Estonian Society of Toxicology was established at October 17th 1997 with a goal to connect everyone interested in toxicology as well as students and those working within the field of toxicology.

The driving force behind the establishment of Estonian Society of Toxicology was the friendly cooperation and exchange of information that began at the Finnish-Estonian Toxicologists Congress held in Tartu from May 22 to 24, 1997, with the Finnish Society of Toxicology.

The main objective of Estonian Society of Toxicology (EST) is to unite people working in the field of toxicology, acquire and disseminate information needed by its members (conferences, scholarships, grants, etc.), develop collaboration with toxicology societies in other countries, and organize scientific conferences, courses, and toxicology-related training. As of January 2025, EST has 74 members. In the summer of 1998, EST became a member of EUROTOX(Federation of European Toxicologists and European Societies of Toxicology), and in November 2004, a member of IUTOX(International Union of Toxicology).

Toxicology is the science of the harmful effects of chemicals on living organisms, including humans. Harmful chemicals or those present at harmful concentrations can be found in the surrounding environment, workplaces, food, etc. Therefore, toxicological research is of fundamental importance for developing Estonia's sustainable development strategy. Since toxicology is a highly interdisciplinary science, combining knowledge and experts from biology, chemistry, medicine, physiology, and other fields, the exchange of information among these individuals is extremely important. This enables effective collaboration and, consequently, better outcomes. Cooperation and information exchange are particularly crucial in Estonia, where research resources are limited.

The Society's first major endeavor was organizing the joint conference of the Scandinavian Society for Cell Toxicology and the Estonian Toxicology Society (SSCT&ETS’98).

The conference was held at the Institute of Chemical Physica and Biophysics in Tallinn from October 23–26, 1998. Despite being a joint conference of two societies, its participants were truly international: 86 attendees from a total of 17 countries. About half of the participants were from Estonia. In addition to Estonians, there were attendees from the Baltic states and Eastern Europe. The exhibition featured nine companies. The main themes of the conference were in vitro toxicology, biochemical toxicology, ecotoxicology, and environmental risk assessment.

On April 25, 2003, a seminar titled Good Laboratory Practice was organized under the Society's initiative, with support from IUTOX and the Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics. The lecturer was Dr. Andrew Waddell (Managing Director, TOWER MAINS LIMITED). Participants of the seminar can be seen in the photograph.

Members of our Society were actively involved as both organizers and participants in the Btox program, established by Uppsala University in Sweden. The Estonian coordinator of the project was Dr. Karin Hellat, a member of our Society. The goal of the program was to improve toxicology training in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The program included both short toxicology courses and opportunities to complete a toxicology´s master program.

From October 20–23, 2005, the Estonian Toxicology Society once again organized a joint conference (ETS & SSCT’05) with the Scandinavian Society for Cell Toxicology. This time, the conference was held in Toila, with 80 participants from 17 countries. The main topics of the conference included in vitro toxicity testing and 3R, alternative methods for toxicity testing (e.g., QSAR, ecotoxicological tests, and 3R), cell toxicology and toxicity mechanisms, the development of new regulatory toxicity tests, in vitro neurotoxicology, new in vitro bioanalysis methods, environmental pollution and ecotoxicology, environmental pollution and risks to humans, and toxicology education in Estonia. As part of the conference, ETS and the British Council organized a Café Scientifique, where Professor John Timbrell from King’s College London gave a talk titled “The Poison Paradox: How and When Chemicals Are Toxic.”

With support from IUTOX, in 2006 the Society organized an event titled “The Three Rs and the Implications of REACH.” Dr. Robert Combes (FRAME, United Kingdom) introduced the new European chemicals policy, REACH, and the 3R principle, which promotes reducing the use of experimental animals in chemical toxicity assessments. A group photo of the seminar participants can be found below.

To find out more about the latest activities of the association, look under the "News" section.