Department of Transportation Promotes Non-Animal Corrosion Tests

February 2011

After PETA learned that the Department of Transportation (DOT) was failing to promote the use of Corrositex^®, an approved non-animal replacement for the rabbit skin corrosion test, PETA filed a rulemaking petition asking the DOT to make the method more visible on its website and to amend its Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to allow chemical shipping companies to use Corrositex^® without requiring a hard-to-find special permit. In addition, PETA wrote to the DOT urging the agency to harmonize the HMR with international regulations in order to allow the use of several additional non-animal replacements for the rabbit test. More than 23,000 people responded to PETA’s call for action by writing to DOT officials asking them to make it simpler for companies to use the already-approved Corrositex^® method, and more than 2,200 of their comments were submitted to the government rulemaking docket in support of our requests. Soon after, the DOT granted PETA’s petition and permanently approved the use of three non-animal skin corrosion tests.