|
ACTRA Australasian College of Toxicology
and Risk Assessment |
|
|
|
February 2008 E-Newsletter |
|
|
|
Member news… |
|
|
|
President’s Report |
|
I welcome all members to the
second ACTRA e-Newsletter. We expect these newsletters to be published more
frequently in future, because we recognise that they are an important means
of keeping members informed about activities relevant to ACTRA. For those of
you who have not caught up, ACTRA has also established its website, at www.actra.org.au. This
will also be an important portal for communicating with members, and it will
shortly feature the ACTRA Register of Toxicologists and Risk Assessment
professionals, which will address one of the key objectives in establishing
ACTRA. Watch the website for further developments. The inaugural AGM was held in
Melbourne in November 2007. While the convening of this meeting was necessary
to meet certain statutory obligations surrounding the registration of ACTRA
as an organization incorporated under Victorian legislation, it was also an
opportunity to exchange scientific dialogue with those members who attended.
The AGM featured three talks from ACTRA members: 1.
Brian Priestly: Risk assessment of chemical mixtures – at
an impasse or is there a way forward? 2.
Andrew Langley: Health Impact assessment (HIA) and
cluster assessment – is there a role for toxicologists and risk assessors? 3.
Jim Fitzgerald: Surveys of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
(MCS) and general chemical sensitivity in South Australia For the 2008 AGM, we will be
looking to organise it more along the lines of a fully professional
conference, with an opportunity for all members to submit papers. An important outcome at the
2007 AGM was the acceptance of a new set of Rules under which ACTRA will operate.
While many of you will consider this to be a topic too “dry” to generate much
interest, it is important for you to know the regulatory framework, which
will govern ACTRA’s activities. The Rules have been posted on the website. A new Management Committee was
elected at the AGM and at its first teleconference on 24 January 2008 the
following responsibilities were allocated: President Brian Priestly Vice-President Peter Di Marco Secretary Roger Drew Treasurer Andrew Harman Membership Michael Moore Communications Roger Drew Education Susanne Tepe Since the Management Committee
and the officers was not formally elected under the new Rules, it will be
necessary for it to operate under interim arrangements during 2008. There
will be a formal call for nominations for election to the various official
positions prior to the 2008 AGM. I urge all members to consider standing for
a position one of these positions and to serve on the Management Committee
because ACTRA really needs your enthusiastic support if we are to achieve all
our objectives. The Management Committee is
planning a series of workshops and seminars as part of the commitment to
provide a vibrant continuing education program. Topics, dates and venues will
be communicated in due course. The Management Committee considers it to be
desirable that these workshops and seminars be convened in as many different
States as possible to alleviate the travel burden on members. The Management Committee also
welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with organizations planning an
educational or scientific meeting, which could meet the interests of ACTRA
members. For information on how to co-badge a relevant activity with ACTRA,
please contact any member of the Management Committee, or the ACTRA Secretariat. Consistent with the need to
operate collaboratively at both a national and international level, the
Management Committee is currently seeking to affiliate ACTRA with the
International Union of Toxicologists (IUTOX), in order to optimise the
exchange of information with our international colleagues. The Management
Committee would welcome comment from members on this initiative, and any
suggestions for other collaborative arrangements which members think
pertinent to ACTRA’s objectives. I am looking forward to serving
as your President during 2008 and working with the Management Committee for
the benefit of all members. However, I would urge all of you to contribute
ideas, volunteer to help to organise activities, and seek to expand the ACTRA
membership base. It is only by
working together that we will forge a stronger organization capable of
advancing the professional development of toxicology and health risk
assessment in Australia and New Zealand. Brian Priestly |
|
|
|
Membership Committee Report |
|
One
of the cornerstones of the successful operation of the college is in
establishment and retention or a strong membership base. Over the past year
the college membership has hovered 39 persons. We have unfortunately been
unable to recruit any substantial number of members with an eco-toxicology
background. This is regrettable with the impending meeting of SETAC in Sydney
this year. I hope that the membership will assist the Membership Committee
and me in seeking further nominations for membership of the college in 2008.
Members should remember that at scientific meetings of the College there
would be a reduced registration fee for those who are members. At
its first meeting after the AGM the Membership Committee recommended that new
levels of membership be made available to accommodate students and emeritus
members. This was endorsed by the
executive at its first meeting in February at which it was agreed that in
addition to full members who would have full voting rights the additional
categories of student member (licentiate of the college) and emeritus
members, who would not have voting rights will be established. The fee for
these two levels of membership would be $25 per annum plus GST. The plans for the development of the Register of Australasian
Toxicologist are now well advanced and the suggestions made by members in
respect of the points system have been incorporated together with the
proposed establishment of the accession tribunal’s, which will include
international members. The current
debate at executive level revolves around the accession fee and the annual
retention fee. Any member wishing to
contribute to this debate, which revolves around the value of registration to
different constituencies within the College, should e-mail me or any other
member of executive with their views. Wishing you all a successful 2008. Michael Moore |
|
|
|
News from other organisations and members… |
|
|
|
Cancer Risks in Perspective: Highly
recommended for an informative read |
|
A recent review by
Professor Bernard Stewart (University of NSW) published in Mutation Research
puts cancer risks in perspective. It uses a combination of hazard assessment
and exposure opportunity to construct a procedure for qualitative risk
assessment of carcinogens. It reviews more
than 60 possible cancer-causing agents or situations and ranks them in one of
five bands corresponding to proven, likely, inferred, unknown or an unlikely
risk of cancer. Articulation of
the tacitly understood, but rarely acted upon by risk assessors, concept that
carcinogens are not necessarily carcinogens all the time is refreshing. For
example, causes of cancer in developed and developing countries are markedly
different. The review points out that reducing aflatoxins in food and arsenic
in water are opportunities for reducing cancer in developing countries, but
these agents are not recognised as causing cancer in North America or
Europe. One of the
objectives of the review is to focus attention on proven causes of cancer and
associated preventive measures, particularly risk reducing behaviours.
Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, deliberate exposure to sunlight and
certain occupational exposures to chemicals are important. Consuming
artificial sweeteners, drinking coffee, using deodorants, occupational
exposure to electromagnetic fields, and breast implants are amongst exposures
unlikely to have a carcinogenic outcome. The review will
help toxicologists and risk assessors place their work into context with the
carcinogenic agents and exposures that actually matter. “Banding
carcinogenic risks in developed countries: A procedural basis for qualitative
assessment”. Mutation Research 658
(2008): 124–151. Submitted by Roger Drew, Toxikos Pty Ltd,
February 2008 |
|
|
|
Continuing the
theme of placing risks in perspective |
|
A book (147 pages) entitled
“Identifying the Environmental Causes of Disease: How Should We
Decide What to Believe and When to Take Action?” has been released by
the Academy of Medical Sciences (an independent group of medical
scientists from hospitals, academia, industry, and the public
service) in the United Kingdom. It appears to be funded by a range of
organisations. “Scarcely a day goes by without
some new report of a study claiming to have discovered a new important
environmental cause of disease. Often these concern serious disorders such as
cancer or heart disease and sometimes they implicate factors such as toxins
or diet that are readily susceptible to modification. The problem is that few
of these findings are confirmed by subsequent research and, occasionally, new
studies even find the opposite. If many of these causal claims turn out to be
mistaken, how should we decide what to believe and when to take action?” Nevertheless, one of the books
conclusions is that non-experimental methods are fundamental to clinical
practice and policymaking, provided stringent criteria are met. It notes that
with very few exceptions, no one research approach, and no one study,
provides conclusive evidence about the causes of a given disease. It
emphasises the totality of evidence from all sources should be brought
together in order to reach sound conclusions. In particular the book stresses
the need for a critical appraisal of claims, and application of the
Bradford-Hill guidelines for evaluation and inclusion of data in reaching
conclusions. It provides excellent discussion of the issues and guidance,
with examples, on to how critically appraise the information. There are also
recommendations for integrating science findings into policy. The book is aimed at a non-specialist
audience and there is an interesting cartoon on p19 of the text that captures
the misinformation issue. While it may be most useful for students, it
provides a refresher for those of us that may have forgotten some basic
evaluation principles when we read and search for information to be used in
risk assessments. It is available at www.acmedsci.ac.uk/publications. Submitted by Dr Andrew Langley,
Public Health Physician, Central Population Health Services - Sunshine Coast.
(Embellished by Roger Drew), February 2008 |
|
|
|
Epigenetics and environmental
diseases |
|
Want to know more about some
cutting-edge science linking environmental diseases with epigenetic
mechanisms, and their possible implications for health risk assessment (HRA)?
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), California EPA,
is running a series of lectures featuring leading scientists in the field
over the next few months. Thanks should be directed to John Frangos (Toxikos
Pty Ltd) who drew our attention to this interesting lecture series. The inaugural lecture (an
overview of the interface between environment and the genome) was delivered
by Dr Shuk-Mei Ho on Wednesday 20 February 2008. Further lectures in the
series will run during February-July. Details on the series can be found at
the OEHHA website (http://oehha.ca.gov/public_info/lecture/index.html). The
Powerpoint presentation used by Dr Ho has also been lodged on the OEHHA
website (http://oehha.ca.gov/public_info/lecture/OEHHAFeb20Ho.pdf). The
lectures are being webcast at http://sacramento.granicus.com/ASX.php?publish_id=2&sn=sacramento.granicus.com with a
link available from the OEHHA website. The lectures are streamed live at
10.00am Sacramento time, which currently translates into 5.00am Melbourne
AEDT. It is probably worth setting your alarm clock to watch the lecture live
in order to get the full benefit of the explanations given of this cutting
edge science. The initial lecture introduced
some basic concepts of how DNA methylation profiles and histone modification
fingerprinting can provide some clues into the regulation of genes involved
in various human diseases and in animal models. Dr Ho’s lecture illustrated the potential for epigenetic
studies to assist HRA, using studies of prenatal exposure to environmental
and natural oestrogens linking to late-life susceptibility to prostate cancer
in a rat model, and human epidemiological studies of changes in
DNA-methylation profiles associated with PAH exposures to link with asthma
susceptibility. Submitted by Brian
Priestly |
|
|
|
Casarett and Doull's Toxicology |
|
The seventh edition (2008) is
now available. Cost is around $150. From the preface: "the importance of
apoptosis, cytokines, growth factors, oncogenes, cell cycling, receptors,
gene regulation, transcription factors, signaling pathways, transgenic
animals, knock out animals, polymorphisms, microarray technology, genomics,
proteonomics, etc in understanding the mechanisms of toxicity are
included in this edition. More information on environmental hormones is also
included". Submitted by Dr Andrew
Langley, Public Health Physician, Central Population Health Services -
Sunshine Coast. (Embellished by Roger Drew), February 2008 |
|
|
|
Upcoming meetings, events and courses |
|
|
|
2008 |
2008
International Conference on Nanoscience and
Nanotechnology
25-29 February 2008 Please click here to visit the meeting website. EcoForum Conference & Exhibition 27–29 February 2008 Please click here to visit the meeting website. Human Health and Ecological Risk
Assessment Workshop Environmental Resources Management
Australia (ERM) 12-14 March 2008 Sheraton Hotel, Perth, Western
Australia Please click here for more information. 5th SETAC World Congress 3-7 August 2008 Sydney, Australia Please click here to visit the meeting website. Eurotox 2008 45th Congress of the European Societies of
Toxicology 5-8 October 2008 Rhodes, Greece Please click here to visit the meeting website. |
|
|
|
|
ACTRA Secretariat
Please
remember that we are always here to help at anytime if you have any queries
relating to your ACTRA membership, or any other business relating to ACTRA. ACTRA Secretariat Meetings First 4/184 Main Street LILYDALE VIC
3140 Phone +61 3 9739 7697 Fax +61 3 9739 7076 |