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Waterwijs Symposium on Chemical Risk Assessment

Could risk principles from other domains, such as food safety, offer valuable insights for the drinking water sector?  As new evidence drives stricter guidelines for substances like PFAS and BPA based on immune effects, how can we proactively identify similar threats before they impact drinking water production? These pressing questions took center stage at the recent Waterwijs Symposium on Chemical Risk Assessment, where experts from drinking water companies, national health authorities and science gathered to explore innovative approaches and foster cross-disciplinary collaboration to tackle the evolving challenges of chemical risks in drinking water.

On 28th January 2025, KWR hosted a Waterwijs Symposium on Chemical Risk Assessment, showcasing insights from two thematic Waterwijs projects in the Chemical Safety theme. The event marked the conclusion of Waterwijs projects Protecting Drinking Water Under Different Regulations and Immunotoxicity as an Endpoint: on the Lookout for CECs. These projects tackled critical topics: exploring the latest developments in regulatory risk assessment across food and drinking water safety and uncovering the health impacts of immunotoxic chemicals in the water system.

The outcomes of these projects contribute to the long-term goals within the Chemical Safety theme, to ensure that (1) drinking water companies can more effectively manage risks related to chemical threats to drinking water, (2) methods are available to identify, evaluate, and prioritize relevant chemical threats, (3) risks from exposure to contaminants that impact health are better assessed, and (4) stakeholders are timely informed and understand the implications of water quality policies for drinking water practice. The results from the projects and insights from the symposium will become available in upcoming reports.

Valuable Exchange of Expertise

The symposium welcomed a diverse group of experts from drinking water utilities, accredited water labs, VEWIN, RIVM, NVWA, Hogeschool Utrecht and Utrecht University. This collaborative setting encouraged cross-disciplinary exchange on cutting-edge topics like scientific and regulatory risk assessment, water and food quality standards, and the application of (animal-free) New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).

Attendees enjoyed four engaging presentations by Marca Schrap (NVWA), Raymond Pieters (HU and partner in the VHP4Safety consortium, Sanah Shaikh (KWR), and Daniel Duarte (KWR). These talks sparked lively discussions, culminating in an Open Discussion Forum led by Milou Dingemans (KWR).

The event underscored the growing importance of addressing emerging water contaminants and adapting to new scientific evidence and evolving regulatory demands. By identifying future research topics needed to ‘bridge science to practice’,  KWR and its partners equip drinking water companies with actionable insights, continuing to drive innovation and ensure safe, high-quality drinking water for the future. The results of the projects and the insights from the symposium will be published in upcoming reports.

Together with stakeholders from the Waterwijs Theme Group on Chemical Safety, we will pursue new research avenues and strengthen collaborations to tackle these critical challenges.

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