Program

This program is subject to change

Annual Scientific Meeting Continuing Education Day

Annual Scientific Meeting

Exposure Science & New Assessment Methods (NAMs): Enhancing Risk Assessment

Wednesday 24 August 2022

8:00am - 9:00am	Registration and Arrival Tea & Coffee
	MORNING SESSION International Perspectives on Exposure Science Chair: Dr. Len Turczynowicz, University of Adelaide
9:00am - 9:15am	Welcome Address A/Prof. Paul Wright, RMIT, ACTRA President Dr. Len Turczynowicz, University of Adelaide & Dr. Rhian Cope, APVMA, Organising Committee Co-Chairs
9:15am - 10:15am	Exposure Science: The Bridge between Environmental Agents and Disease Dr. Brian Curwin, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Every day we are exposed to agents that have the potential to affect our health—through the personal products we use, the water we drink, the food we eat, the soil and surfaces we touch, and the air we breathe. Exposure science is the bridge between the sources of chemical, physical, and biological agents and human health. It provides crucial information to estimate real-life risks to health and to identify the most effective ways to reduce these risks. Further, exposure science addresses the intensity and duration of contact of humans or other organisms with those agents and their fate in living systems. The value and importance of exposure science in conducting risk assessments and preventing disease will be presented along with some examples highlighting the role exposure science plays.
10:15am - 10:45am	Morning Tea
	LATE MORNING SESSION Exposure Science 1 - Air Chair: Dr. Ian Delaere, SA Health
10:45am - 11:30am	How to make clean, healthy indoor air the norm? Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska, International Laboratory for Air Quality & Health and Queensland University of Technology We take buildings for granted, not realising how complex they – and especially their interior atmospheres – can be. We waste energy prodigiously, to maintain mediocre atmospheric quality, inadequate for many occupants; and we cannot detect pathogens to prevent us from inhaling them. Building systems do not respond to outdoor- and indoor-generated air pollution, to prevent ingress of pollutants from outside or efficient removal inside. We don’t have indoor air quality standards, and even if we had we could not enforce them because routine monitoring of air quality in every interior is still not feasible. We need a profound change how we apply science, building engineering solutions and public health policies to create healthy indoor atmosphere. The presentation will explore how to make this vision a reality.
11:30 am - 11:50am	A user-friendly tool for exposure and health impact assessments of air pollution Dr. Timothy Chaston, Environment Protection Authority Victoria - Air pollution interventions have measurable impacts on life expectancy and premature death. - We produced a user friendly interface that could be used to calculate mortality burden of air pollution under policy relevant scenarios.
11:50am - 12:10pm	Guideline for assessing and minimising air pollution in Victoria Dr. Benjamin Edokpolo, Environment Protection Authority Victoria - Dr. Benjamin Edokpolo presenting the Guideline for assessing and minimising air pollution in Victoria in Exposure Science Air session. - The purpose of the presentation is to establish a baseline level of knowledge for users of Guideline to understand how EPA Victoria assesses and regulates air pollution. - The Guideline provides a risk management framework for assessing potential risk of harm from air emissions on the environment and human health.
12:10pm - 12:30pm	Making Sense of Smoke Events: Emergency Risk Communication Practice Dr. Madeleine Thomas, WSP Golder - Practitioners’ sensemaking–the process of creating meaning from information about an unfolding emergency–is key to effective emergency risk communication during complex and time-critical public health incidents. -This presentation will discuss research investigating the realities of government practitioners’ sensemaking for smoke events, such as bushfires and industrial facility fires. - Findings include that past lived experience is a key facilitator of sensemaking and that practitioners prioritise different information when sensemaking.
12:30pm - 1:30pm	Lunch
	EARLY AFTERNOON SESSION Exposure Science 2 - New methods in Exposure Science Chair: Prof. Brian Priestly, Monash University
1:30pm - 2:15pm	Expocast Dr. Caroline Ring, US EPA Centre for Computational Toxicology and Exposure - Thousands of chemicals used in commerce require rapid prioritization for potential human and ecological health risks. Chemical prioritization requires information about both hazard and exposure. - To fill gaps in exposure information, US EPA’s ExpoCast program is developing a wide-ranging suite of new approach methodologies (NAMs).
	Student Travel Grant and Poster Presentations Chair: Peter Di Marco, Benchmark Toxicology
2:15pm - 2:30pm	Exposure to PFAS in Australian communities impacted by environmental contamination: the PFAS Health Study, 2016-2020 Kayla Smurthwaite, Australian National University - From 2016–2019, the Australian Government conducted the Voluntary Blood Testing Program for PFAS in three Australian communities affected by local environmental contamination. - Approximately one-third (29–42%) of the 2,587 participants recruited into the PFAS Health Study had an elevated serum PFOS concentration and half (48–55%) of participants had an elevated serum PFHxS concentration, compared to the background exposure levels of a comparison population. - Evidence of higher serum PFOS and PFHxS concentrations in these Australian communities is consistent with the nature of the environmental contamination and the main constituents of the firefighting foams historically used in the areas.
2:30pm - 2:45pm	Enhanced strain-specific Ames mutagenicity prediction using multitask deep learning and mechanistic task grouping Raymond Lui, The University of Sydney The Ames test is an established mutagenicity assay used to detect the different mechanisms by which chemicals can mutate DNA in Salmonella typhimurium strains. This talk introduces multitask deep learning as a new approach methodology to develop novel in silico quantitative structure – activity relationship (QSAR) models which simultaneously predict groups of Ames strain endpoints from a single set of molecular descriptors. Specifically, our work investigates the integration of toxicological knowledge into the model development process by identifying synergistic task groupings in the multitask neural networks that improve prediction accuracy and bridge the gap between data-driven modelling and scientific interpretability.
2:45pm - 2:55pm	Student Travel Grant Q&A and Presentation
2:55pm - 3:05pm	Approaching Trace Metal Contamination through Biological Lens Riley Hodgson, Sally Walker, Kieran Couchman, Monash University - The team is investigating small cysteine-rich peptides found in monocot species postulated to bind metals, highlighting their potential role in plant metal homeostasis and selective metal binding. - Investigating the extent of Hg uptake in Festuca rubra and Poa pratensis, two grass species capable of accumulating Hg.
3:05pm - 3:30pm	Afternoon Tea
	Exposure Science 3 Chair: Katie Richardson, Senversa
3:30pm - 3:50pm	Environmental Science Studies Quality Assessment: Best Available Tools Dr. Maryam Moslehi, Environment Protection Authority Victoria - Systematic analysis of the environmental science research and development of the most appropriate assessment tools are pivotal for reliable and consistent study quality assessments. This approach provides researchers with a consistent method to evaluate studies for different applications including policy advisory. - Existing assessment protocols for biomedical sciences were reviewed and investigated for their applicability to environmental sciences. It has been shown that Risk of Bias, Study Quality assessment and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) tools are transferable and could be adopted/modified to assess environmental science studies.
3:50pm - 4:10pm	Planning and community health – Should not be complicated Dr. Jackie Wright, Enrisks - The science provides good evidence on the health effects associated with air pollution and noise. - However how these issues are addressed in land use planning, particularly in urban areas, is complex and challenging. - Simple implementation concepts are now incorporated into computer games. These concepts could be adapted to provide guidance on more effective, consistent and simpler tools to integrate land use planning and decisions with community health protection.
4:10pm - 4:50pm	A Global Perspective on Environmental Contamination Dr. Andrea Hinwood, United National Environment Programme Dr. Andrea Hinwood will outline the work of the United Nations Environment Programme in dealing with pollution and waste with a focus on human exposure. She will outline available information on environmental contamination globally, challenges and needs as well as recent initiatives to support management of pollution and waste.
4:50pm - 5:10pm	Discussion and Questions
5:10pm	Close of Day 1 of Annual Scientific Meeting
6:30pm	Networking Reception Belgian Beer Café, 5 Riverside Quay, Southbank, VIC 3006 Please note: this is not included in your ticket price and at the delegate's own expense

Thursday 25 August 2022

8:00am - 9:00am	Registration and Arrival Tea & Coffee
	MORNING SESSION New Approach Methods (NAMs) Chair: Dr. Rhian Cope, APVMA
9:00am - 9:30am	NAMs and Canada's Regulatory Perspective on Next Generation Risk Assessments Yad Bhuller, Health Canada In 2012, the Council of Canadian Academies published the expert panel report titled: Integrating Emerging Technologies into Chemical Safety Assessment. This report was prepared for the Government of Canada in response to a request from the Minister of Health and on behalf of Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency. It examined the scientific status of the use of integrated testing strategies for the regulatory health risk assessment of pesticides while noting the data-rich/poor dichotomy that exists when comparing pesticide formulations to most industrial chemicals. The presentation at the Australian College of Toxicology and Risk Assessment’s Annual Scientific Meeting and Continuing Education Day session builds on the Bhuller et al., 2021 article: Canadian Regulatory Perspective on Next Generation Risk Assessments for Pest Control Products and Industrial Chemicals. It provides a regulatory update on Health Canada’s advancement in incorporating non-animal strategies, using a weight of evidence approach, when evaluating pest control products.
9:30am - 10:00am	New Alternative Methodologies (NAMs) and the DNT: A Regulator's Perspective Dr. Elizabeth Mendez, US EPA DNT refers to any adverse effect of exposure to a toxic substance on the normal development of nervous system structures and/or functions.The in vivo DNT guideline study assesses and screens for a chemical’s potential to cause adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. However, the study is resource-intensive and suffers from several limitations including high variability, low precision, and reliance on apical endpoints with little understanding of the underlying biological processes. Over the past few years, a collaboration between US EPA and EFSA-sponsored scientists has developed a DNT in vitro battery (DNT IVB) of assays to evaluate a chemical’s potential to elicit DNT. The DNT IVB identifies key events in neurodevelopment, uses model systems to recapitulate key neurodevelopmental processes, and applies new technologies for high-throughput assessment of endpoints at increasing levels of biological organization. This provides an overview of an approach to the integration of DNT NAMs into US EPA’s regulatory framework.
10:00am - 10:30am	New Approach Methodologies from a 3Rs perspective Dr. Deborah Milligan, NC3Rs The NC3Rs supports the identification, development and use of 3Rs technologies and approaches across the UK science-base. We have a large programme in toxicology and safety assessment and are leading projects to accelerate the development and application of NAMs to increase confidence in their use for regulatory decision making. This will ultimately reduce the current reliance on animals in chemical/drug toxicity testing and will improve the predictivity of safety testing. The session will highlight our activities in the NAMs space, the incentives and barriers associated with NAMs uptake and insights from our experience about the approaches needed for the wider acceptance of NAMs.
10:30am - 11:00am	The role of the OECD Test Guidelines Programme in the standardisation of new approach methods Dr. Olga Furman, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) test guidelines (TGs) are internationally accepted methods for assessing chemical effects on human health and environment. They underpin regulatory risk assessment of industrial chemicals and pesticides in Australia. The OECD TGs programme has developed a wide variety of validated tests ranging from traditional single methods to increasingly complex methods that rely on multiple sources of information. The test guidelines and supporting materials are continuously expanded and updated to ensure that state-of-the-art science and techniques are used with the assistance of world leading experts. In this session I will share the information about the recent developments and role of the National Coordinator and experts in the development and standardisation of new approach methods with the aim to promote use of OECD tools and create opportunities for Australian scientists to share their technical expertise via international engagement.
11:00am - 11:30am	Morning Tea
	LATE MORNING SESSION New Approach Methods (NAMs) Chair: Tarah Hagen, SLR Consulting
11:30am - 12:00pm	Emerging Approaches to Testing of Chemicals and Human Health Hazard Assessments, The Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme Dr. Sneha Satya, AICIS The presentation will provide an overview of the globally available non animal methods (NAMs), the challenges for industrial chemical regulators both internationally and nationally in using these methods and the cooperative activities being undertaken to face these challenges.The focus of the presentation will be on the implementation of NAMs under the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme, those used to date, the exploration of methodologies for future use and the application of emerging approaches to hazard assessment. Consideration of new approach methods in human health risk assessment Dr. Selma Kaasinen, APVMA APVMA has a policy to accept data generated based on internationally accepted test guidance documents and studies providing bridging information or weight of evidence. APVMA focuses on an outcome based assessment process, ensuring satisfaction with safety criteria, and looks to utilize available assessment methodologies, including new approach methods as part of contemporary assessment.
12:00pm - 1:00pm	Introduction to the Defined Approach To Skin Sensitization (DASS) Assessment (OECD Guideline 497) Dr. Rhian Cope, APVMA The presentation during the ASM will cover the theoretical fundamentals on which the IATA is based. These will then be put into practice in the Case Studies on the CE day.
1:00pm - 2:30pm	Lunch
1:30pm - 2:30pm	ACTRA AGM
	EARLY AFTERNOON SESSION New Approach Methods (NAMs) Chair: Maryam Moslehi, Environment Protection Authority Victoria
2:30pm - 3:00pm	Introduction to the IATA for serious eye damage and eye irritation (OECD Guideline 263) Dr. Rhian Cope, APVMA This presentation will cover the theoretical fundamentals on which the DASS is based. These will then be put into practice in the case studies on the CE day.
3:00pm - 3:30pm	Introduction to the IATA for Skin Corrosion and Irritation (OECD Guideline 203) Tarah Hagen, SLR Consulting - The presentation during the ASM will cover the theoretical fundamentals on which the Integrated Approach on Testing and Assessment (IATA) is based. - The IATA for skin corrosion and irritation is composed of well described and characterised “Modules”, each of which contain one to several individual information sources of similar type. - The strengths and limitations as well as the potential role and contribution of each Module and their individual information sources are described with the purpose of minimising the use of animals to the extent possible, while ensuring human safety.
3:30pm - 4:00pm	Afternoon Tea
	LATE AFTERNOON SESSION Emerging Contaminants and Assessment Methods Chair: Antti Mikkonen, University of South Australia
4:00pm - 4:20pm	The long and winding road Judith Barnes, Senversa
4:20pm - 4:40pm	A Risk Ranking of 43 Technology Critical Elements Victoria Lazenby, University of South Australia - Defining and identifying technology critical elements and minerals (TCEM), with critically of supply a key focus in recent definitions of ‘critical minerals’. - Uses for TCEM and how this is of relevance to exposure. - Overview of the methodology applied to the current risk ranking – focused on exposure, toxicity, and degree of uncertainty. - Risk ranking outcomes – including high priority TCEM and key data gaps. - Further research proposed.
4:40pm - 5:10pm	Discussion and Questions

5:10pm	Close of Annual Scientific Meeting
6:30pm	ASM Dinner River's Edge Events

Continuing Education (CE) Day

Exposure Science & New Assessment Methods (NAMs): Enhancing Risk Assessment

Friday 26 August 2022

8:00am - 9:00am	Registration and Arrival Tea & Coffee
9:00am - 9:10am	Welcome Address Dr. Rhian Cope, APVMA
	MORNING SESSION New Approach Methods (NAMs) Chair: Effi Liden, Department of Health Victoria
9:10am - 9:40am	NAMs Practical Case study 1: Defined Approach to Sensitization (DASS) Dr. Rhian Cope, APVMA The case study will work through a practical example of how to apply OECD Guideline No. 497
9:40am - 10:15am	NAMs Practical Case study 2: Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment (IATA) for Serious Eye Damage and Eye Irritation Dr. Rhian Cope, APVMA The case study will work through a practical example of how to apply OECD Guideline No. 263 (second edition)
10:15am - 10:45am	Morning Tea
	LATE MORNING SESSION New Approach Methods (NAMs) Chair: Jo Hislop, Department of Health Victoria
10:45am - 11:15am	NAMs Practical Case study 3: Integrated Approach on Testing and Assessment (IATA) for Skin Corrosion and Irritation Dr. Rhian Cope, APVMA Tarah Hagen, SLR Consulting - This case study builds on the theoretical concepts presented at the ASM. - Participants will be presented and work through mock-up case examples of how to apply the IATA for skin corrosion and irritation in a weight of evidence analysis. - Participants will be presented with example data for specific Modules covered in the IATA and will need to make a judgement as to what (if any) further information would be required to conclude on the appropriate skin irritation or corrosion hazard classification and/or whether it can be concluded that the substance is not classifiable for these endpoints.
11:15am - 12:10pm	NAMs Case Study 4: The New Developmental Neurotoxicity (DNT) In-Vitro Testing Battery Dr. Rhian Cope, APVMA Dr. Elizabeth Mendez, US RPA The case study will work through a practical example of how to apply the draft OECD guidance document
12:10pm - 1:10pm	Lunch
	EARLY AFTERNOON SESSION Exposure kinetics Chair: Jackii Shepherd, Worksafe ACT
1:10pm - 2:25pm	Exposure science and kinetics – a review of current and emerging practices Antti Mikkonen, University of South Australia Katie Richardson, Senversa - Fundamentals for the development of exposure models and brief introduction to static- and dynamic modelling approaches. - Current practices for estimating exposure and risk in contaminated land risk assessment (static models) - Emerging practices for incorporating dynamic modelling approaches and machine learning into exposure assessment
2:25pm - 3:40pm	Continuous and discontinuous exposure: pathways, reservoirs and lag Razia Zariff, SA Health - In a community with historic and ongoing contamination (emissions) from an industrial source, the potential for exposure is ongoing but exposure is not necessarily continuous - In such a scenario there is usually not a simple direct correlation with a consistent predictable time interval between emissions and exposure and understanding exposure pathways for vulnerable populations and the potential reservoirs of contaminants can help in identifying efficient monitoring options and effective interventions required to minimise exposure
3:40pm - 3:55pm	Afternoon Tea
	LATE AFTERNOON SESSION Vapour intrusion Chair: Sheridan Chapman, DRC Environmenal
3:55pm - 5:10pm	Vapour intrusion – understanding optimal approaches in assessment Dr. Len Turczynowicz, University of Adelaide - Past and present vapour intrusion modelling - Vapour intrusion measurement and data visualisation - Optimisation of data and information for understanding risk
5:10pm - 5:30pm	Discussion, Questions and Summary A/Prof. Paul Wright, RMIT, ACTRA President
5:30pm	Close of Continuing Education Program