John Toll, Tim Verslycke and Karel De Schamphelaere, SETAC and IBERA Council Members
After years of collaborative effort across SETAC’s Geographic Units, the International Board of Environmental Risk Assessors (IBERA) was founded on 2 June 2021, as an independent, not-for-profit organization.
SETAC took this step because it believes that an independent, international, professional certification program in environmental risk assessment will serve the needs of SETAC members, now and in the future. IBERA will fill the need for a unified, global certification program that recognizes individuals who are qualified to conduct scientifically robust and technically advanced environmental risk assessments. It will promote scientific progress in environmental risk assessment and encourage education and training. SETAC is a professional home for environmental risk assessors at all stages of their careers, from all over the world. It seems natural that SETAC will become a leading provider of training courses, which will prepare candidates for the IBERA exams and for continued professional development of certified risk assessors, and that SETAC will flourish as the environmental risk assessment profession grows and matures.
IBERA is now accepting applications to confirm eligibility for the first certification exam. Apply by 1 June.
The granting of the status of “IBERA Certified Environmental Risk Assessor” (or “IBERA Diplomate”) will be based on proof of professional experience and successfully passing a Diplomate Exam. The Diplomate Exam will evaluate a candidate’s knowledge of nine core domains that are used by environmental risk assessors:
- Environmental risk assessment concepts, principles and legislative frameworks
- Fate and behavior of chemicals
- Exposure assessment and estimation of chemicals in the environment
- Sub-organism level ecotoxicology
- Organism level ecotoxicology
- Supra-organism level ecotoxicology
- Chemical, biological and ecological monitoring of exposure and effects
- Statistics and modeling in ecotoxicology and environmental risk assessment
- Interdisciplinary professional principles and capabilities
IBERA has retained Schroeder Measurement Technologies (SMT), a Prometric company that specializes in test development and delivery. The Diplomate Exam is currently being finalized according to the highest international standards for developing certification examinations and with core knowledge experts from across the globe. IBERA is planning to certify its first group of IBERA Diplomates in 2022. The first Diplomate Exam will take place in October 2022. Applications are now being accepted through 1 June via the IBERA online application portal. More information is available on the IBERA website. If you still have questions regarding the certification process, register for one of two virtual Q&A sessions that are planned for 14:00 UTC on Tuesday, 12 April, and 14:00 UTC on Tuesday, 24 May.
SETAC is proud to have played a decisive role in launching IBERA and looks forward to a long, close and mutually beneficial relationship that will serve the SETAC community in the years to come.
Authors’ contact information: JohnT@windwardenv.com, tverslycke@gradientcorp.com and karel.deschamphelaere@ugent.be
