May 2009

Dear subscriber:

Happy Spring! In April, Springborn attended the CropLife America (CLA) and RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment) 2009 Spring conference in Virginia, where scientists, government agency representatives, and top companies across the pesticide industry, met to discuss current and emerging priority regulatory and scientific issues. In May, Springborn also exhibited at the CSPA Mid-Year Meeting in Chicago, where the meeting theme “The Will to Succeed” addressed some of the challenges facing consumer specialty product manufacturers and suppliers today. CSPA provides its members a platform to effectively address issues regarding the health, safety, sustainability and environmental impacts of their products. Look for Deb Teixeira, Springborn's Director of Business Development, at the Sustainable Fragrances 2009 Conference that is being held on June 3-5, 2009 at the Marriott Washington Hotel in Washington, DC.

We commend these associations for their commitment to maintaining public health and safety in an environmentally responsible manner.

Environmental Fate and Metabolism Expansion

Springborn has significantly expanded its Environmental Fate and Metabolism laboratory space to broaden its analytical service offerings and support the growth of plant and animal metabolism and other regulatory testing requirements. The expansion has led to a 50% increase in capacity and the addition of professional staff. Our additional mass spec instrumentation will bring horsepower to our metabolite identification in all areas of Environmental Fate and Metabolism. With REACH regulations and registration reviews driving an increase in testing demands, we're working closely with our clients to ensure that we provide quality services and steady capacity. To learn more about Springborn's global environmental testing capabilities, or to download the Environmental Fate and Metabolism Regulatory Guideline Overview, click here.

Ecotox News

Lee Sayers, Senior Research Biologist at Springborn, will be giving a paper at the American Chemical Society meeting in August entitled, “Solvents as Practical Tools in Laboratory Aquatic Toxicity Testing.” The paper discusses how solvents are used in aquatic toxicity tests with difficult-to-test substances (typically sparingly soluble) and are used only when necessary to aid dissolution of test material. In these instances, solvent controls are used to assess effects of solvent on the test system. The amount of solvent used is very small, e.g. 0.01% by volume, and is substantially below concentrations known to cause toxicological effects in the test system. Non-solvent alternatives to prepare test solutions (e.g., generator columns, coated carboys) have the potential to be less effective and often result in variable test solutions. These alternative methods are time-consuming and require additional analytical support compared to solution preparation using solvents. Therefore, in practice, the use of non-solvent alternatives is less functional in a high-throughput testing environment such as a CRO. Practical use of solvents and the lack of significant impact of their use on study results will be reviewed.

Scoping CSA Services

REACH Services Group, a member company of The Smithers Group, is offering a new scoping Chemical Safety Assessment (CSA) process which helps you gain a grasp on the registration requirements for your substance(s) and provides insight for a variety of similar products – either by chemistry or by use. The scoping CSA serves as a critical tool for planning continued SIEF engagement and consortium activities. It identifies where further efforts should be prioritized, analyzes potential cost, and maps out timelines. For downstream users, it establishes a basis for managing supply chain communications on product use. Visit the REACH Services Group web site for more information about the scoping CSA services.

Avian Toxicology

Springborn's Carolina Research Center (CRC) in Snow Camp, North Carolina specializes in laboratory and field studies for avian toxicology. Our programs concentrate on toxicity testing, non-target organism pesticide exposure characterization and risk assessment, as well as contaminant induced endocrine disruption in birds. Currently, the CRC is voluntarily participating in a laboratory guideline validation of a new avian toxicity test. OECD (Europe) developed a new guideline for an acute oral toxicity test that uses fewer birds than existing guidelines. Springborn is one of five laboratories around the world participating in these studies via the new guideline to validate that the methods are reproducible among various labs (equivalent results).

CRC has just won a competitive bidding process to gain U.S. EPA funding to conduct an avian reproduction study with Japanese quail involving endocrine endpoints. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the endocrine endpoints that can be evaluated in a single-generation avian reproduction study. The funded study is part of a larger EPA program aimed at establishing appropriate testing guidelines for evaluating avian effects of suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals. For more information about our avian testing programs, contact info@springbornsmithers.com.

91/414 Update – New European Pesticide Directives

Springborn is closely monitoring the finalization of annexes and we are preparing to meet your 91/414/EEC needs. If you have any questions about your requirements, contact Deb Teixeira, Director of Business Development, at dteixeira@springbornsmithers.com.

Residue analysis for our Analytical Chemistry department

Need a GLP service laboratory for residue chemistry testing? Springborn provides residue chemistry testing services in support of sample processing for field studies. These fast-turnaround tests analyze pesticide residues in soil, sludge, fruits, and vegetables. To learn more about the broad use categories for new or amended registration applications, visit Springborn's analytical chemistry web page.

News from our Swiss Research Facility

Our Horn facility continues to add cutting-edge technology. In April, we installed a LC/MS/MS system. The system consists of an ABI Sciex 3000 Triplequadrupol mass spectrometer and an Agilent 1100 HPLC unit. With this new equipment, we have increased sensitivity for the analysis of ionic and polar substances, allowing increased flexibility for the analytical support of the toxicological tests. Since many of the analytical methods described are based on LC/MS/MS analysis, we are able to implement more existing methods, instead of developing new methods.

Three of our Study Directors from our Horn laboratory will present poster sessions at SETAC Europe, May 31st through June 4th:

Merve Anne Biester, The effect of coloured substances on algal growth

Marc Hamitou, The Double Mixing Chamber System - an approach for difficult to test substances

Sebastian Hoffmann, Influence of vessel dimensions and light conditions on the outcome of toxicity tests with larvae of Poecilus cupreus (L.) (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Abstracts can be viewed on our website. Merve, Marc, and Sebastian will be available to meet with visitors throughout the week at their poster sessions or at our booth, H4:07. Additionally, you can visit staff from both our Horn and US facilities at Chemspec in Barcelona, booth H44, June 17-18, and at REACH Europe in the Netherlands, June 24-25.

Smithers Viscient for Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program

Smithers Viscient was established to bring together the ecotoxicology services from Springborn, and toxicology services from ILS, to be your one-stop solution provider for Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program testing needs. Smithers Viscient provides ecotoxicology testing and in vitro and in vivo toxicology services to the agricultural, pharmaceutical, and specialty chemical industries. As a specialty-service resource for toxicology testing, we bring together a variety of offerings to deliver comprehensive product registration packages. Our new brochure provides an overview of the typical Tier 1 Screening Test, and describes the process for completing your product registration. To download, visit www.smithersviscient.com.

REACH Europe Discount for Springborn Clients

Springborn clients interested in learning more about REACH can receive a 10% discount on registration for the Fifth International Conference on the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals, June 24 – 25, Amsterdam , Netherlands. When registering for the conference online, use the promotional code SSCD, which will automatically apply the 10% discount. You may also register via email, areeves@ismithers.net, or phone, +31 (0)20 5191200. Visit our website for more details or to register online.