PM 8/21: Improving the regulatory assessment of combination effects: steps towards implementing the mixture assessment factor (MAF) in chemical regulation

This report was commissioned by the Swedish Chemical Agency and conducted by the author Professor Thomas Backhaus, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

The aim of this report was to provide an overview of the recent scientific information on the need for an additional mixture assessment factor (MAF), in order to account for combination/mixture effects during the evaluation of risks for humans and the environment. A second aim was to develop an approach on how to estimate a sufficiently protective, but not overly conservative, MAF. The report is intended as a contribution to the current discussions on how to deal with combination effects of chemicals in EU legislation.