Reports
Commissioned reports, panel and committee contributions, and frameworks
Fire Risks of Upholstered Products
A new method for modelling fire risk and flame retardant exposure in a data-poor environment
This report was commissioned by the UK Office for Product Safety and Standards. It summarises key evidence that can be used to inform policy proposals relating to the revision of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. Read here.
US National Academies
Review of U.S. EPA's ORD Staff Handbook for Developing IRIS Assessments (2022)
At the request of the EPA, this report reviews the procedures and considerations for operationalizing the principles of systematic reviews and the methods described in the handbook for determining the scope of the IRIS assessments, evidence integration, extrapolation techniques, dose-response analyses, and characterization of uncertainties. Read here.
WHO Chemical Risk Assessment Network
Framework for the use of SR in chemical risk assessment (2021)
High-level guidance for chemical risk assessors who are not currently familiar with systematic approaches. Intended to help the reader understand assessments conducted by institutions that have used systematic approaches, and assist in understanding the issues, limitations and challenges involved if institutions are considering using SR approaches themselves. Read here.
Improving the safety of pesticides in the EU
White paper collaboration between NGOs, lawyers, and academics (2018)
Convened by Pesticides Action Network, this White Paper describes in detail a range of issues with how scientific evidence is aggregated, analysed, and acted upon in the regulation of pesticides. A range of ways in which the situation can be improved, including use of SR methods in pesticide evaluations, are articulated. It can be read here, and the resulting manuscript is here.
The future of evidence in chemicals policy
Early white paper on the use of SR in chemical risk assessment (2013)
This report was funded by the European Environment and Health Initiative, to look in detail at how uptake of systematic review methods might improve risk assessment. By now it will look a bit naive, but at the time it was arguably the first detailed presentation of the concept of SR in risk assessment, with an impactful critique of the methods being used for risk assessing bisphenol-A. Read here.