EPA Announces Two Scientific Advances Designed to Modernize Safety Reviews of New Chemicals and Pesticides

On August 27, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two scientific advancements designed to modernize safety reviews of new chemicals and pesticides while further eliminating the Agency’s reliance on animal testing. According to EPA, the new methods will help it assess the potential inhalation and oral risks of certain chemicals and pesticides faster and with greater human relevance, advancing the Agency’s commitments to transparency, regulatory certainty, and the protection of human health and the environment. EPA’s announcement introduces two integrated solutions to eliminate animal testing and modernize toxicity reviews:

• Modernizing Surfactant Assessment: According to EPA, surfactants are chemicals used widely in soaps, detergents, and cleaning products. EPA states that it has updated its scientific framework to predict better how these specific formulas may irritate the lungs using three-dimensional (3D) human airway tissue, “providing science that is faster, more human relevant, and less dependent on animal testing –without compromising safety.” This allows reviewers to estimate risks safely using existing digital models rather than ordering new animal studies.

• Adopting GHS Mixture Standards: EPA states that it will use an international, scientifically backed formula, the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) mixtures equation, to predict oral toxicity for some pesticides. According to EPA, this decision follows a comprehensive analysis — conducted with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) — that evaluated nearly 700 pesticide formulations, which showed the mixtures equation can reliably identify products that are minimally toxic by the oral route. By using globally recognized, data-driven calculation formulas, EPA “can accurately assess risks based on a mixture’s known ingredients, eliminating the need to test the final blended product on animals.”