Cross-Sector Review of Drivers and Available 3Rs Approaches for Acute Systemic Toxicity Testing

Acute systemic toxicity studies are carried out in many sectors in which synthetic chemicals are manufactured or used and are among the most criticized of all toxicology tests on both scientific and ethical grounds. A review of the drivers for acute toxicity testing within the pharmaceutical industry led to a paradigm shift whereby in vivo acute toxicity data are no longer routinely required in advance of human clinical trials. Based on this experience, the following review was undertaken to identify (1) regulatory and scientific drivers for acute toxicity testing in other industrial sectors, (2) activities aimed at replacing, reducing, or refining the use of animals, and (3) recommendations for future work in this area

A joint Japan-China research project for reducing pollution in China in the context of the Kyoto Protocol clean development mechanism (CDM): case study of the desulfurdized bio-coal briquette experiments in Shenyang and Chengdu

The Kyoto Protocol agreed on in 1997 allows some flexibility for developed countries in their implementations of their commitments to reduce emissions of CO 2 and other global warming gases. In particular developed countries may receive emission credits for facilitating international cooperation for developing clean development mechanisms (CDMs) between themselves and developing countries. CDMs must reduce emissions of global warming gases on a sustainable basis in the developing countries involved. Such CDMs are expected to be an important tool for Japan and other developed countries for achieving their Kyoto Protocol commitments to reduce their CO 2 emissions, but assessments and implementations of alternative CDMs require careful international joint research efforts. In this paper, we discuss our on-going Japan-China joint research to develop and evaluate bio-coal briquette (biobriquette), a new product to replace coal in some regions of China. Coal is a significant source of air pollution in China. The introduction of biobriquette use in China as a possible CDM for Japan is also discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.