EAS-E Suite, fittingly pronounced EASY, is a free online platform designed to streamline chemical hazard, exposure, and risk estimation. It integrates extensive chemical property databases, predictive QSAR (quantitative structure-activity relationship) models, and specialised tools to support chemical hazard, exposure and risk estimation. These capabilities make it an invaluable resource for scientists, regulators, and industry professionals seeking reliable data for decision-making.
The EAS-E Suite platform includes environmental fate and exposure models like RAIDAR and PROTEX-HT (PROTEX-HT is the high-throughput version of the PROTEX model). The RAIDAR and PROTEX models were revised as part of the Cefic-LRI ECO54 Project to include ground water compartments, which can be a source of human exposure through drinking water. The RAIDAR, PROTEX, and PROTEX-HT models are designed to assess the behavior of chemicals in complex, real-world scenarios, addressing critical concerns related to Persistence (P), Bioaccumulation (B), Mobility (M), and Toxicity (T) – collectively known as PBMT, as well as providing holistic approaches for human and ecological exposures and potential risks.
To learn more about the EAS-E Suite, its impact, and the motivations behind its development, we spoke with Dr. Jon Arnot, President of ARC Arnot Research and Consulting, and part of the team who brought the platform to life.
The presentation: The Exposure And Safety Estimation (EAS-E) Suite Platform to Aid Chemical Assessments at SETAC will take place on Tuesday May 13 at 14:30 – Session – Hall M, Level 1. Dr. Alessandro Sangion from ARC will give an EAS-E Suite Demo at the Cefic-LRI booth (Booth 89) at SETAC Europe in Vienna from 15:45 – 16:45 on Wednesday May 14.
Could you tell us about the tool and how you think it will help scientists?
Dr. Jon Arnot: EAS-E Suite is an online application that integrates curated databases with numerous models and tools for chemical hazard, exposure and risk estimation for ecological and human health assessments and for chemical safety and sustainability. It provides chemical identification details and both measured and predicted property data for over 80,000 organic chemicals. It also supports property prediction for data-poor chemicals not included in the database. Stakeholders can readily apply these current scientific methods using only a chemical structure, name or chemical abstract service (CAS) number.
Looking to the future, how do you think the tool will evolve and help to improve our understanding of chemicals in the environment?
Dr. Jon Arnot: EAS-E Suite allows stakeholders to examine chemicals in terms of Persistence, Bioaccumulation, Mobility and Toxicity (PBMT) using traditional data and New Approach Methods (NAMs), as well as providing holistic state-of-the-science methods to support chemical safety and sustainability objectives. EAS-E Suite continues to evolve by incorporating scientific advancements to help stakeholders transition towards 21st century scientific information to support decision-making.
On top of being a useful tool for scientists, how do you think it will benefit wider society, what impact do you think findings will have?
Dr. Jon Arnot: EAS-E Suite’s accessibility provides opportunities for all stakeholders to compare older methods and approaches with newer scientific methods. EAS-E Suite has numerous modules to examine various chemical assessment challenges. For example, the Bioaccumulation Estimation Tool (BET) incorporates in vitro, in vivo and in silico data to evaluate bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms and air-breathing organisms in laboratory and natural environments. The RAIDAR and PROTEX-HT models provide more complete information for chemical evaluations which can also be put into context with PBMT data. Putting the “pieces of the chemical evaluation puzzle together” in EAS-E Suite allows scientists to identify priority research needs relating directly to regulatory assessments and to advance chemical safety and sustainability objectives in an efficient and pragmatic manner.
You’ve collaborated on several LRI-funded projects over the years. What added value do you see in the LRI approach? Which project was, if one, in your opinion, was the most rewarding or provided the biggest impact?
Dr. Jon Arnot: Through various LRI projects over the past 15 years, our research group has had many productive collaborations with academic, business and regulatory scientists. The LRI approach brings different stakeholders, and more importantly different chemical business sectors, together to address significant issues that are not unique to a particular sector or stakeholder. For example, current challenges and data gaps for ionizable organic chemicals are not unique for a particular company or business sector. The LRI program helps to address broadly applicable scientific research needs that are best addressed in strategic collaborative partnerships with scientists in the academic, business and regulatory communities.
The freely available on-line Exposure And Safety Estimation (EAS-E) Suite platform can be accessed www.eas-e-suite.com.
For further information:
PROTEX-HT and RAIDAR and many other models, databases and tools available for free public use on the EAS-E Suite platform
Background on ARC Arnot Research and Consulting
Background on Associate Professor Li Li
https://www.unr.edu/public-health/faculty/li-li
Background on PROTEX model
https://lilienv.weebly.com/protex.html
