EPA Expands Non-Animal Methods

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Aug. 27 said it is adopting new methods to assess the potential inhalation and oral risks of certain chemicals and pesticides faster and with greater human relevance, advancing the agency’s commitments to transparency, regulatory certainty and the protection of human health and the environment, the agency said.

“EPA is leading the way on eliminating animal testing by embracing cutting-edge, gold standard science like never before,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “With these new scientific advancements, we are fostering American innovation and raising the bar when it comes to the research methods used when evaluating new chemicals and pesticides.”

Modernizing Surfactant Assessment: EPA has updated its scientific framework to, in its words, “better predict how these specific formulas may irritate the lungs using 3D human airway tissue, providing science that is faster, more human relevant, and less dependent on animal testing—without compromising safety. This allows reviewers to safely estimate risks using existing digital models rather than ordering new animal studies.”

Adopting GHS Mixture Standards: EPA announced it will use an international, scientifically backed formula, the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) mixtures equation, to predict oral toxicity for some pesticides.

According to EPA, this decision follows a comprehensive analysis—conducted with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences—that evaluated nearly 700 pesticide formulations, which showed the mixtures equation can reliably identify products that are minimally toxic by the oral route. By using globally recognized, data-driven calculation formulas, the agency can accurately assess risks based on a mixture’s known ingredients, eliminating the need to test the final blended product on animals.

EPA released an expanded list of alternatives in June 2026.

The EPA strategy involves pursuing New Approach Methodologies (NAMs).

EPA says its embrace of NAMs provides massive benefits as traditional animal models can be slow, expensive, and do not always perfectly mimic human biological responses. NAMs allow EPA to look directly at chemical impacts on human cells and biological pathways, leading to more accurate predictions of potential health risks in significantly less time than it takes to complete a single animal study.

EPA also remains committed to working with key scientific partners to identify additional methods of replacing animal testing wherever possible. Those partners include veteran scientists, animal welfare advocates, and NGOs whom share EPA’s commitment to phasing out animal testing.

Complete the Phase Out by 2035

EPA said it plans to phase out all remaining mammalian study requests and funding by 2035, including those performed by third parties.