Code of Ethics and Conflict of Interest

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Code of Ethics

Adopted by SOT on January 31, 1985; Revised June 1, 2005; Reviewed and Reaffirmed September 14, 2011; Revised November 5, 2012; Revised July 27, 2022.

The Society of Toxicology (SOT) is dedicated to developing and communicating knowledge to improve the health and safety of living beings and to protect the environment upon which we depend. To attain this objective, each member must maintain high ethical standards, recognize a duty to share this knowledge with the public, and be a thoughtful advocate for human, animal, and environmental health. To this purpose, this code requires a personal commitment.

SOT members Shall:

  • Conduct their work with objectivity and themselves with integrity.
  • Practice honesty and truthfulness in reporting and communicating their research.
  • Hold as inviolate that credible science is fundamental to all toxicological research and is the basis for communicating results.
  • Recognize a duty to communicate information concerning health, safety, and toxicity in a timely and responsible manner, with due regard for the significance and credibility of the available data.
  • Give due consideration to the ethical, legal, social, and policy implications of their research and communications.
  • Be a thoughtful advocate for human, animal, and environmental health.
  • Abstain from professional judgments influenced by undisclosed conflict of interest, disclose any material conflicts of interest, and avoid situations that imply a conflict of interest.
  • Observe the spirit, as well as the letter, of laws, regulations, and ethical standards with regard to the conduct of human and animal research.
  • Practice high standards of environmental and occupational health and safety for the benefit of themselves, their co-workers, their families, their communities, and society as a whole.
  • Provide equal opportunity and equal consideration to all members without regard to sex, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion or religious belief, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disabilities, or veteran status
  • Conduct their professional activities in a manner free from harassment as defined in the SOT Code of Conduct.

Concerns regarding ethics violations should be communicated in writing to SOT Headquarters. All questions of ethical concerns will be referred to the Society’s legal counsel for review and recommendation to SOT Council. Council can take action in response to objections only when those objections or comments are accompanied by specific references to findings of record as published by adjudicative bodies and when those findings cast serious doubt on members’ respect for and conformity to the standards of professional conduct commonly accepted by toxicologists. SOT mandates that all SOT Officers and Councilors complete a conflict of interest disclosure form.

 

Conflict of Interest

SOT is committed to creating a safer and healthier world by advancing the science of toxicology. In seeking to do this, it is important that neither SOT nor its members be compromised by any significant conflict of interest (COI). In general, a COI arises when an organization or individual has a conflict between competing primary and secondary interests. The Society has a number of documents and forms regarding COI for its members, Council, scientific presentations, and journal: