Toxicology of simple and complex mixtures

Humans are exposed to mixtures of chemicals, rather than to individual chem icals. From a public health point of view, it is most relevant to answer th e question of whether or not the components in a mixture interact in a way that results in an increase in their overall effect compared with the sum o f the effects of the individual components. In this article, options for th e hazard identification and risk assessment of simple and complex chemical mixtures will be discussed. In addition, key research needed to continue th e development of hazard characterization of chemical mixtures will be descr ibed. Clearly more collaboration among toxicologists, model developers and pharmacologists will be necessary.