BUAV  British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection

CMR(s)  Carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (substances)

DEFRA  Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

DETR  (former) Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

ECB  European Chemicals Bureau

ECVAM  European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods

EDC  Endocrine disrupting chemical

EINECS  European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances

EPA  US Environmental Protection Agency

ESR  Existing Substances Regulation

FAO  (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation

FOE  Friends of the Earth

HPV  High production volume (chemicals)

HSE  Health and Safety Executive

ICCA  International Council of Chemical Associations

IEH  Institute for Environment and Health

IFCS  Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety

IOMC  Inter-Organisation programme for the sound Management of Chemicals

IUCLID  International Uniform Chemical Information Database

JRC  Joint Research Centre (European Commission)

MRC  Medical Research Council

  OECD  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OSPAR  Oslo-Paris Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic

PBT(s)  Persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic (substances)

PCBs    Polychlorinated biphenyls

POPs  Persistent organic pollutants

QSAR(s)  Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship(s)

RCEP  Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution

REACH  Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals

SIDS  Screening information data set(s)

SLIM  Simpler Legislation for the Single Market (Commission programme)

SMEs  Small and medium-sized enterprises

UNCED  UN Conference on Environment and Development (the Rio Earth Summit, 1992)

UNECE  UN Economic Commission for Europe

UNEP  United Nations Environment Programme

VPVB(s)  Very persistent, very bio-accumulative (substances)

WHO  World Health Organisation

WWF  World-Wide Fund for Nature