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- da European Commission
Progress report on the assessment and management of combined exposures to multiple chemicals (chemical mixtures) and associated risks
Humans as well as other organisms are exposed to a great variety of chemicals occurring in combinations also referred to as ‘mixtures’. Scientific evidence of the strengthened toxicity of such mixtures is mounting.
Real-life examples of such mixtures are the different chemicals appearing simultaneously or sequentially in e.g. human blood or in a water body. The total risk related to the exposure to a combination of chemicals typically exceeds the risk related to the exposure to each of the individual chemicals in the mixture on their own, at their respective concentration in the mixture. Therefore, exposure to a mixture can give rise to adverse health and environmental effects, even at levels of exposure which are considered ‘safe’ for the individual chemicals on their own.