PETA Scientists Help Breathe New Life into Non-Animal Toxicity Testing

PETA scientists and collaborators have developed a state-of-the-art, non-animal inhalation test that uses human lung cells instead of animals. This method has already been utilized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess certain chemicals' potential to cause lung irritation, demonstrating its superiority to tests on animals. The test is based on human biology, using laboratory-grown human airway tissues that mimic the human upper airway, and has shown promising results in identifying biological changes associated with respiratory tissue irritation.

The method has gained international recognition, with laboratories across multiple countries conducting tests on nearly twenty chemicals using the same tissues with consistent and reliable results. This progress has led to the method being accepted as a project proposal within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Test Guideline Programme, signifying potential global acceptance and a reduction in animal testing worldwide. While advocates celebrate this advancement in non-animal methods, there is still a need to urge organizations like the FDA to support the use of reliable, non-animal approaches for assessing products like toothpaste to prevent unnecessary animal testing.