Safe chemicals for future generations
EDC-MixRisk is an EU project designed to ultimately lead to a safer environment for our children, an environment where the next generation can grow old without their quality of life being threatened by environmental chemicals or their mixtures.
The endocrine disrupting properties of chemicals, and mixtures thereof, have become a global concern. A normally functioning healthy endocrine system is essential for our ability to reproduce and develop. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are linked to serious health problems such as diabetes, obesity, neurodevelopmental disorders and reproductive problems. The fact that we are exposed to complex mixtures of EDCs is of particular concern.
EDC-MixRisk is an EU Horizon 2020 research project that studied the effects of prenatal exposure to mixtures of suspected EDCs on the development and health in children. Our work emphasises potential effects of EDC mixtures during foetal development and provides new tools and approaches for mixture risk assessment.
Key findings
- Chemicals identified in pregnant women within the general population originated from different sources and application areas which are currently regulated by different pieces of European Union legislations.
- Epidemiological analysis showed that prenatal exposure to mixtures of EDCs was associated with various effects in children’s health and development. Some effects were sex specific.
- The tested mixtures affected hormone-regulated and disease-relevant outcomes in a variety of experimental models at the same concentrations found in the pregnant women.
- Applying our novel whole mixture approach indicates a higher risk for children compared to risk estimated by current methods based on a single compound assessment.
Read the full EDC-MixRisk policy brief on edcmixrisk.ki.se, 2019.
Read the press release, 26 March, 2019.