People are not exposed to chemicals one at a time from one place or product. They are exposed to combinations, or mixtures, of chemicals from different sources.

Exposing a person to multiple chemicals from different sources can change how the chemicals interact and how they affect the body, sometimes causing far more damage than exposure to just one chemical. Pesticides, solvents, and the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS are just three of the environmental groups of chemicals associated with health risks.

People are exposed to hundreds of chemicals in the environment every day – through the sky we breathe, the food And water we consume and the products we use in our house And on our bodyThese chemicals can also enter our air or water through industrial pollution or agricultural waste.

For example, PFAS are often found in drinking waterBecause of their stain and water resistant properties they are also deliberately cosmetics, clothing, food packaging, menstrual and incontinence products even dental floss.

And drinking water may contain heavy metals, solvents, pesticides, PFAS and possibly many more chemicals, which are harmful to health on their own or in mixtures.

Many chemicals, many dangers

Peer-reviewed research reports that even metals essential for healthy growth and development can be associated with toxicity when people are exposed to a combination of essential and toxic metals. In a studyManganese, an essential metal, contributed to poorer scores on neurodevelopmental tests in children who were also exposed to lead, a highly toxic metal. The more serious outcomes may be due to how the chemicals interact once in the body.

The same applies to asbestosa heat-resistant fibrous mineral used for insulation and fire resistance. Exposure is the leading cause of a rare and serious form of cancer called mesotheliomaThe risk of this form of cancer increases if someone also smokes, because the combination of smoking and asbestos is worse for you than smoking alone.

Damage caused by chemical mixtures

Chemical mixtures have been linked to a range of health problems, including: an increased risk of developing cancersharm to the child neurological development, consequences for the thyroid glandand the risks of bad reproduction And cardiometabolic health outcomes.

And you can be at risk with such simple tasks as cleaning your bathroom. If you mix bleach and ammonia, both of which are commonly used for cleaning, the result is highly toxic chlorine gas. Exposure can be fatal.

The combination of pollution or personal care products in our bodies can have the same result. And chemicals that may be considered harmless on their own can be toxic when mixed with another.

Research has shown that exposure to mixtures of pesticides increases the risk of health effects such as: reproduction And cardiometabolic damage.

The reverse can also be true. What about two chemicals that are individually harmful to health, but do not interact with each other once they are in the body? In those cases, the total potential risk from exposure to those chemicals at the same time is equal to their individual dangers combined.

Health problems due to mixtures is one of the concepts behind Skin Deep® from EWG searchable database of personal care products and EWG Verified®the seal of approval awarded to cosmetics and other products that meet EWG’s strict standards for efficacy, ingredient safety, and transparency.

How are chemicals regulated now?

Risk assessments for humans and the environment do not adequately capture the effects of chemical mixtures. And regulations are not always written to address the risks of these mixtures.

Instead, chemicals are usually regulated as single chemicals or sometimes as groups of related chemicals. Many chemicals are still not properly regulated.

In 1976, the groundbreaking US chemical law, the Toxic Substances Control Actor TSCA, was promulgated. At that time, more than 60,000 chemicals already in use did not need approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to continue to be used. Early attempts to regulate some of those chemicals were thwarted by the courts, and as a result, the EPA took very little action on chemicals already in use until the law was reformed.

Under a 2016 Update from TSCAThe EPA must now review and regulate some of these chemicals, but the process is slow and does not directly address chemical mixtures.

Reduce your exposure to chemicals

It is impossible to completely avoid chemicals in your daily life, but you can reduce your exposure to mixtures. Here are some tips:

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