In 2011, the three independent non-food Scientific Committees of the European Union (SCHER, SCENHIR, and SCCS) provided a joint opinion on “the toxicity and risk assessment of chemical mixtures.” The European Commission is now asking SCHEER (Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks) to update this Opinion.
Since the 2011 Opinion, explains the Commission, this issue has developed into one of the central issues for improving chemical risk assessment and management under the EU Green Deal, in particular the Commission’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Zero Pollution Action Plan.
Given that real-world exposures are always to complex mixtures, but never to individual chemicals, the issue of mixture toxicity assessment is also highly relevant for several crosscutting regulatory initiatives of the EU, including the Essential Use Concept, the One Substance One Assessment Framework, the Safe and Sustainable by Design approaches and the Transition Pathway for the Chemical Industry.
Since 2011, several European and international regulatory agencies have published guidance documents on this subject. For the Commission, these reports do not only account for the scientific progress during the last decade, but also prepare the ground for the ongoing update of regulatory frameworks. It therefore considers that, in light of these developments, the 2011 Opinion “urgently requires an update in order to remain relevant.”
The SCHEER mandate
SCHEER is therefore asked to:
1. Identify and discuss the tools and approaches used for the mixture assessment of the most important chemical classes (pesticides, biocides, industrial …
