BLV Health Watch - - National Toxicology Program Symposium

The NTP (National Toxicology Program), an interagency program within the Department of Health and Human Services, is considered to be at the forefront of developing and using new methods for testing toxicity to predict hazards to humans.

They will be presenting a new refined strategy that will guide the expansion of the NTP to meet emerging research needs, including examining the potential safety issues related to herbal medicines and supplements, cell phone radiofrequency transmissions, and nanoscale materials.

The strategy will also provide a long-term vision that moves toxicology away from an animal-based enterprise, including developing non-mammalian models.

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) will present its new strategy "A Roadmap for the Future" at a symposium being held Tuesday, May 10: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ...and... Wednesday, May 11: 9:00 a.m. - noon ...at the National Academy of Sciences, 2100 C Street, NW, Washington, DC

"A Roadmap for the Future" defines how NTP will integrate new methodologies with proven approaches to "test smarter."

For more than 25 years, the NTP has made extraordinary progress in evaluating chemicals and other agents that may be toxic to human health and disseminating this information broadly to inform public health decision-making.

For example, through its extensive testing program, the NTP has evaluated over 2500 agents. In addition, the NTP biannually issues the Report on Carcinogens, which in 2005 identified 246 cancer-causing agents, including for the first time viruses like Hepatitis B and C.

For more information and to view the full release, click here.