Ulf Björnholm Ottosson works as Environment Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU in Brussels and has led negotiations on combination effects of chemicals in the Council Working Party on the Environment. At the Environment Council meeting on 22 December the Council will adopt conclusions on the matter. The Swedish Presidency is highlighting the issue, which was raised by Denmark at the June Council meeting.

What are combination effects?
They are effects of concentrations of chemicals that individually are under EU risk limits, but where the effects of combined exposure to several chemicals can have serious consequences. Humans are exposed to a ’cocktail’ of chemicals on a daily basis. Studies show that when animals are exposed to a combination of different substances there may be harmful effects despite the fact that the concentration of each substance individually is regarded as safe. This is particularly clear with regard to endocrine disruptors, which can be associated for example with impaired reproduction, foetal damage and other serious health effects. Chemicals can stem from several different sources, such as emissions to air or water, waste incineration or plastic products. Water creatures are often particularly sensitive, especially those higher up the food chain. Chemicals can affect reproduction in both the fish and, if it is an edible fish, the human who eats it. It is difficult to make studies of combination effects, since there have been no reliable methods of measurement. However, there is a recent Danish study that measured the substances to which two-year-olds were exposed via food, water, air and objects in the home. The results show serious combination effects that can cause as much harm as too high a dose of one chemical. This shows that this is a problem that needs to be given greater attention in the future. More knowledge is needed and current legislation may need adjusting.

What does the Presidency wish to achieve with the Council conclusions?
The Council conclusions have two important aims. The first is to put the question on the political agenda, to highlight the question politically among EU environment ministers and the Commission. The second is to task the Commission with investigating if and how existing EU legislation addresses combination effects. If necessary the Commission must also  propose how legislation can be improved and supplemented. It may be a matter of adding new test methods, revising legislation or introducing new preventive measures. The EU chemicals legislation REACH is a good instrument for protecting environment and health from harmful chemicals, but risk assessments are made on a chemical-by-chemical basis. It may be seen as a deficiency of REACH that too little consideration is given to harmful combination effects of chemicals, but the main reason for this is that there has been insufficient knowledge of the matter to date – a situation which is now changing.

How have discussions in the Working Party gone?
The negotiations have gone well, and the Presidency has received great support for the Council conclusions. In the light of a number of proposals from Member States and the Commission, we have made certain adjustments, but no-one has had any strong objections. The discussion has mainly focused on the time frame for when the Commission is to report on this, and the degree to which special attention should be drawn to REACH and endocrine disruptors.