ICCVAM Biennial Report 2018-2019

DoD is developing a roadmap to promote the use of NAMs in rapid chemical hazard assessment. DoD scientists recognized the unique challenges in assessing chemical safety for diverse occupational exposure scenarios and a chemical space not well-represented outside of military interests. To address these specific concerns, DoD leadership felt that a more tailored approach was needed to fulfill the goal of reducing animal use for chemical safety testing in concert with the ICCVAM Strategic Roadmap. The DoD-specific roadmap will help laboratories across DoD to better define their chemical assessment needs and collaborate on development or refinement of appropriate non-animal approaches for testing.

Drafting of the DoD roadmap began with the “Joint DoD Technical Interchange and Roadmap Development Meeting to Promote the Use of New Approach Methodologies in Rapid Chemical Hazard Assessment.” This workshop was comprised of DoD stakeholders and experts from federal and academic agencies and designed to help provide direction for future development.

While work is being led by the Army Corps of Engineers, this has been a tri-services effort with input received from all three branches of the military. Roadmap development is ongoing, with publication planned for mid-2021 following a federal stakeholder commenting period.