Bio: Dr. Salmaan Inayat-Hussain is the Head of the Environment, Social Performance, and Product Stewardship Department at PETRONAS and the Founding President of the Malaysian Society of Toxicology. He leads a team responsible for overseeing toxicology, environmental health, and product stewardship, ensuring the organization's operations align with safety and sustainability standards. Dr. Inayat-Hussain holds a PhD in Toxicology from the UK and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and a European Registered Toxicologist. He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and an Adjunct Professor at Yale University School of Public Health.

Abstract: One of the major challenges in chemical prioritization is the inconsistent hazard classification, which may lead to inaccurate assessment of occupational and public health risks. To date, there is no single hazard classification list based on the United Nations Globally Harmonized System (GHS), with countries applying the GHS standards to generate their own chemical hazard classification lists. A current challenge for chemical prioritization is inconsistent hazard classification which may result in misjudgment of the potential health risks. In view of the growing interest in chemicals linked to reproductive health and cancer hazards, a novel approach for hazard identification of chemicals as potential reproductive or developmental toxicants was developed using eleven government regulatory agencies’ databases. The selected known and presumed human reproductive toxicants were further prioritized for carcinogenic and mutagenic properties followed by assignment of hazard scores. In this presentation, I will discuss the diverging GHS classification outcomes across regulatory agencies and share on the approaches in integrating the most stringent international hazard classifications with hazard scoring system. Coupled with other key data including volumes placed on the market, this approach enables prioritization of chemicals to inform future exposure assessment ensuring safer chemical use and minimizing health risks.