‘Combination Effects of Chemicals’ issue of Science for Environment Policy now online
Beyond the laboratory, humans, animals and plants are never subject to single chemicals in set doses. In the real world we are all exposed to an intricate cocktail of chemicals and other stressors which can interact to produce toxic effects that are difficult to predict. This thematic issue explores research which will help decision makers overcome some of the challenges associated with assessing the combination effects of chemicals. The articles offer easy-to-read summaries of key studies in the field, to give a comprehensive view of the latest developments. They explore topics including: • A new biology-based approach for assessing mixture toxicity • How chemical mixture assessments could be incorporated into EU policy, such as REACH • A screening tool to protect human health from combination effects, under development in the US Current regulatory approaches to assessing chemicals usually evaluate single substances, chemical by chemical. However, there are concerns that this approach is insufficient and that the combination effects of chemicals should be addressed in a more systematic way. The Council of the EU adopted conclusions on combination effects in December 2009, which acknowledge these concerns and invites the European Commission to assess how and whether this problem is addressed by existing legislation. Science for Environment Policy is a free news service designed to strengthen links between environmental research and policy. Combination Effects of Chemicals is the twenty-first in a series of special Thematic Issues which take an in-depth look at issues high on the policy agenda. It is guest-edited by Dr Hans Løkke of Aarhus University, Denmark. In addition to monthly special issues, subscribers to Science for Environment Policy receive a weekly news alert by email covering a range of environmental research. All news alert articles and Thematic Issues can be viewed on the service’s website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/index_en.htm(opens in new window) To subscribe to the service, simply send an email to sfep@uwe.ac.uk with the subject line ‘Subscribe SfEP’. Science for Environment Policy is published by the European Commission’s DG Environment and has 12,000 subscribers. It is edited by the Science Communication Unit at the University of the West of England.