An experimental design for the simulation of combined-acting pollutants

A short review is given of concepts which are used to evaluate effects from combined-acting agents. To explore those effects exactly a high multiplicity of experiments must be performed, as an algebraic derivation from the effects of the single-acting agents is not usually possible. For practical purposes (as, for instance, to establish threshold limit values with respect to occupational health standards) a more pragmatic concept is proposed. Accordingly, an experimental setup has been developed which enables us to expose four groups of rodents simultaneously to two different single-acting chemical and/or physical stress parameters, both separately and in combination, and to control conditions.