Identification of emerging safety and sustainability issues of advanced materials: Proposal for a systematic approach

FAIR assessment tools: evaluating use and performance

Publishing research data using a findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) approach is paramount to further innovation in many areas of research. In particular in developing innovative approaches to predict (eco)toxicological risks in (nano or advanced) material design where efficient use of existing data is essential. The use of tools assessing the FAIRness of data helps the future improvement of data FAIRness and therefore their re-use. This paper reviews ten FAIR assessment tools that have been evaluated and characterized using two datasets from the nanomaterials and microplastics risk assessment domain. The tools were grouped into four categories: online and offline self-assessment survey based, online (semi-) automated and other tools. We found that the online self-assessment tools can be used for a quick scan of a user's dataset due to their ease of use, little need for experience and short time investment. When a user is looking to assess full databases, and not just datasets, for their FAIRness, (semi-)automated tools are more practical. The offline assessment tools were found to be limited and unreliable due to a lack of guidance and an under-developed state. To further characterize the usability, two datasets were run through all tools to check the similarity in the tools' results. As most of the tools differ in their implementation of the FAIR principles, a large variety in outcomes was obtained. Furthermore, it was observed that only one tool gives recommendations to the user on how to improve the FAIRness of the evaluated dataset. This paper gives clear recommendations for both the user and the developer of FAIR assessment tools.

Safe and sustainable by design: A computer-based approach to redesign chemicals for reduced environmental hazards

Persistency of chemicals in the environment is seen a pressing issue as it results in accumulation of chemicals over time. Persistent chemicals can be an asset in a well-functioning circular economy where products are more durable and can be reused or recycled. This objective can however not always be fulfilled as release of chemicals from products into the environment can be inherently coupled to their use. In these situations, chemicals should be designed for degradation. In this study, a systematic and computer-aided workflow was developed to facilitate the chemical redesign for reduced persistency. The approach includes elements of Essential Use, Alternatives Assessment and Green and Circular Chemistry and ties into goals recently formulated in the context of the EU Green Deal. The organophosphate chemical triisobutylphosphate (TiBP) was used as a case study for exploration of the approach, as its emission to the environment was expected to be inevitable when used as a flame retardant. Over 6.3 million alternative structures were created in silico and filtered based on QSAR outputs to remove potentially non-readily biodegradable structures. With a multi-criteria analysis based on predicted properties and synthesizability a top 500 of most desirable structures was identified. The target structure (di-n-butyl (2-hydroxyethyl) phosphate) was manually selected and synthesized. The approach can be expanded and further verified to reach its full potential in the mitigation of chemical pollution and to help enable a safe circular economy.