New Tool Helps Users Classify Skin Sensitizers Under GHS

A new web tool is intended to help users apply a modified approach for considering skin sensitization potency in assigning chemicals to subcategories of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The approach was developed by the NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM) and collaborators at the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR).

According to the NICEATM website, the approach “uses data from human predictive patch test (HPPT) assays to consider skin sensitization potency in assigning chemicals to subcategories of the GHS hazard classification system.” The new tool, called the HPPT App, aims to address challenges that some users encountered in understanding and implementing the approach. The HPPT App allows users to input data and visualize results, and helps them understand classification outputs.

A 2024 Archives of Toxicology paper by individuals with BfR and NICEATM examines the use of HPPT data for the classification of chemicals as skin sensitizers under the GHS. According to the paper, HPPTs have been used to identify chemicals that cause skin sensitization since the 1940s.

More information can be found in the Sept. 24 issue of NICEATM’s e-newsletter and on the HPPT App webpage.