A four-year chemical study to investigate the effects of complex mixtures has been launched in Europe.

Panoramix, a project led by the Technical University of Denmark, will research the risks associated with exposure to man-made chemicals, with a focus on the potential effects on children.

Their mission includes developing innovative methods for testing the effects of chemical mixtures, while avoiding conducting tests on animals. The project is supported by a 4 million Euro grant from the European Commission, and will be holding its first meeting in Copenhagen later this month.

Regulatory risk assessments on chemicals usually focus on a single chemical at a time, to reduce the complexity of the process. However, in a world where new chemicals are constantly being developed, Panoramix believes that additional research must be conducted into the effects of chemical mixtures to ensure total security.

This comes at a time when sustainability and the effects of chemicals on our environment and living spaces are under great scrutiny. The European Commission’s Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, published in late 2020, stresses their responsibility to address the potential harms of untested chemical mixtures to achieve a “toxic-free” environment.

Professor Vinggaard, coordinator of Panoramix, explains: “We are constantly exposed to different substances coming from different sources: from the water we drink to the food we eat. Moreover, a single mixture can be composed of dozens of chemicals, both known and unknown. Finally, some harmful effects might take years to manifest in the population.

“With Panoramix, we aim to address these critical points with a specific focus on children.”

Initial tests will be carried out using samples of water, food and human blood to evaluate human exposure from different sources. Researchers will carry out tests to determine the effects of samples on basic biological processes, before analysing the samples to identify the substances that contribute to these harmful effects.

This data will be cross-referenced with data from the Odense Child Cohort to establish long-term links between the chemical samples and human effects.