Current and future approaches for the assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals

JRC scientists of the EU Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing (EURL ECVAM) reviewed the current EU regulatory framework, methodologies, current practices and potential use of non-animal methods for assessing the combined effects and potential risks from combined exposure to multiple chemicals.

Humans and wildlife can be exposed to an infinite number of different combinations of chemicals in mixtures via food, consumer products and the environment, which might impact health. The risk assessment of chemicals for regulatory purposes does not generally take into account the “real life” exposure to multiple substances, but mainly relies on the assessment of individual substances. While combined exposures are considered in several pieces of legislation, a harmonised consistent approach for performing mixture assessments across different regulatory sectors is still lacking.

See more: ec.europa.eu/jrc