Replacing Animal Studies: Two Steps Toward EPA’s Goal
The US EPA maintains a list of animal testing alternatives for chemical assessments—also called New Approach Methods (NAMs)—under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). TSCA directs the EPA to use these methods to reduce, refine, or replace vertebrate mammal testing.
This month, the Agency says it took two steps toward replacing animal studies with science that is “faster, more humane, and more relevant to human health.”
Last year, EPA used high-quality alternative scientific methods to animal testing in its cancer evaluations for dibutyl phthalate and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate for the first time ever, sparing an estimated 1,600 mice and rats from undergoing lab experiments.
June 2, 2026, News Release, EPA Press Office
Step One: Updating the NAMs List
The first step was updating the NAMs list for the first time since 2021. The EPA added 13 new methods to the NAMs list, including a new method to evaluate eye hazards with reconstructed human cells and a method to evaluate phototoxicity using a 3D human cell-based tissue model.
Step Two: A Streamlined Process for Submitting Ideas
The second step was introducing a streamlined process for individuals and companies to nominate NAMs for consideration in pesticide and chemical assessments. Ideas for NAMs can be submitted directly to the EPA. For “promising submissions,” the EPA will send a form for the submitter to complete. Once EPA scientists have evaluated the form and approved the suggested method, it will be added to the Agency’s NAMs list.
TSCA and FIFRA Chemical Regulations Training
Lion’s self-paced TSCA and FIFRA Regulations online course guides EH&S professionals through the EPA reporting, recordkeeping, and risk management requirements for sites that manufacture, import, process, distribute, or use chemicals regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The course also covers the registration, reporting, packaging, labeling, and certification requirements applicable to pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
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