The cocktail of man-made chemicals that we are exposed to daily is a health risk which current regulations and risk assessment overlook.
The cocktail of man-made chemicals that we are exposed to daily is a health risk which current regulations and risk assessment overlook. This is the conclusion of the EU Horizon 2020 EDC-MixRisk project that is now being presented.
We are exposed to a large number of man-made chemicals in our everyday life. This creates combinations of chemical mixtures, to which we are subjected during our whole lifespan. Current risk assessment and management practices, however, focus mainly on exposure to single substances. Exposure to hazardous substances, especially endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), during the foetal period is of particular concern, as it can lead to irreversible changes in the development of organs and tissues and increased susceptibility to diseases later in life.
The EDC-MixRisk project was initiated to investigate how effects caused by real-life relevant mixtures could be studied. The project developed a novel approach based on identifying and testing EDC mixtures associated with adverse health outcomes in humans.
An overarching conclusion from the EDC-MixRisk project is that current regulations of man-made chemicals systematically underestimate health risks associated with combined exposures to EDCs or potential EDCs.
Read more at Stockholm University
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