European Project on Chemical Risks (PARC)

How dangerous are chemicals that we use every day? The European PARC project, with extensive Swiss participation, aims to improve risk analysis methodology to protect human health and the environment.

PARC and the European Chemicals Strategy

The European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) was launched in Paris on 11 May 2022. The aim is to further develop risk assessment for chemicals. Within the framework of a «One Health» approach, human health and the environment are to be even better protected, in line with the EU strategy for sustainability under the «Green Deal» for Europe.

Objectives of the project

The main objectives of PARC are to promote European cooperation, to advance research, to increase knowledge about the risk assessment of chemicals and to train the corresponding methodological skills. Close cooperation between authorities and research will facilitate the translation of research results into regulatory practice. Likewise, based on the envisaged research, European and national strategies will be developed that aim to reduce the risk posed by hazardous chemical substances to health and the environment, and to reduce the number of animal experiments.

Organisation

PARC is coordinated by Anses (Agence Nationale Sécurité Sanitaire Alimentaire Nationale) in France and funded equally by the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation «Horizon Europe» (in Switzerland by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation - SERI) and by the project partners. The partnership has a duration of 7 years and a budget of 400 million euros (financed equally by the EU and project partners). A total of 200 partners from 28 European countries and three EU authorities are involved in PARC.

Swiss partner institutions in PARC

In Switzerland, 8 research institutions and 3 federal offices are partners in this large-scale project, which is coordinated at the national level by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

• Agroscope – Swiss Centre of Excellence for Agricultural Research
• eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
• empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
• ETHZ – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
• oekotoxzentrum – centre ecotox
• FOPH – Federal Office of Public Health
  
• FOEN – Federal Office for the Environment
  
• SCAHT - Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology
• SECO – State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
  
• Unisanté – Centre universitaire de médecine générale et santé publique
• USI – Università Svizzera italiana
  

Last modification 13.06.2022