Thomas Backhaus.

Publications

Peer-reviewed work

A selection of recent publications is shown below, with the complete list available on ORCID and Google Scholar. The work spans three decades, from experimental ecotoxicology to methods for mixture risk assessment, data-driven toxicity prediction, and the science that informs European chemicals policy. Across it runs a sustained effort to make the assessment of chemical risk more realistic, more quantitative, and more useful to the decisions that depend on it.

Selected recent publications

  • Include a mixture allocation factor to improve EU chemical risk management
    Backhaus T, Scholze M, Brack W, Martin O, Slunge D, Ågerstrand M, Kortenkamp A, Escher B
    Science, 390(6774), 678–680 · 2025
  • Transformers enable accurate prediction of acute and chronic chemical toxicity in aquatic organisms
    Gustavsson M, Käll S, Svedberg P, Inda JS, Molander S, Coria J, Backhaus T, Kristiansson E
    Science Advances, 10 · 2024
  • AI-aided chronic mixture risk assessment along a small European river reveals multiple sites at risk
    Weichert FG, Inostroza PA, Ahlheim J, Backhaus T, Brack W, Brauns M, Fink P, Krauss M, Svedberg P, Hollert H
    Environment International, 197, 109370 · 2025
  • Exploring the mixture assessment or allocation factor (MAF): a brief overview of the current discourse
    Backhaus T
    Current Opinion in Toxicology, 37, 100460 · 2024
  • Defining the data gap: what do we know about environmental exposure, hazards and risks of pharmaceuticals in the European aquatic environment?
    Spilsbury FD, Inostroza PA, Svedberg P, Cannata C, Ragas AMJ, Backhaus T
    Water Research, 251, 121002 · 2024
  • A multi-scenario risk assessment strategy applied to mixtures of chemicals of emerging concern in the River Aconcagua basin in Central Chile
    Inostroza PA, Elgueta S, Krauss M, Brack W, Backhaus T
    Science of the Total Environment, 921, 171054 · 2024
  • The mixture assessment or allocation factor: conceptual background, estimation algorithms and a case study example
    Backhaus T
    Environmental Sciences Europe, 35, 55 · 2023
  • Commentary on the EU Commission's proposal for amending the Water Framework Directive, the Groundwater Directive, and the Directive on Environmental Quality Standards
    Backhaus T
    Environmental Sciences Europe, 35, 22 · 2023
  • Environmental risks of pharmaceutical mixtures in aquatic ecosystems: reflections on a decade of research
    Kidd KA, Backhaus T, Brodin T, Inostroza PA, McCallum ES
    Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · 2023
  • Key principles for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals and Waste
    Ågerstrand M, et al., Backhaus T, et al., Scheringer M
    Environmental Science & Technology, 57, 2205–2208 · 2023
  • Addressing chemical pollution in biodiversity research
    Sigmund G, Ågerstrand M, Antonelli A, Backhaus T, Brodin T, Diamond ML, Erdelen WR, Evers DC, Hofmann T, Hueffer T, Lai A, Torres JPM, Mueller L, Perrigo AL, Rillig MC, Schaeffer A, Scheringer M, Schirmer K, Tlili A, Soehl A, Triebskorn R, Vlahos P, vom Berg C, Wang Z, Groh KJ
    Global Change Biology · 2023
  • We need a global science-policy body on chemicals and waste
    Wang Z, Altenburger R, Backhaus T, Covaci A, Diamond ML, Grimalt JO, Lohmann R, Schäffer A, Scheringer M, Selin H, Soehl A, Suzuki N
    Science, 371(6531) · 2021
  • Future chemical risk management: accounting for combination effects and assessing chemicals in groups
    Rudén C, Backhaus T, Bergman P, Faust M, Molander L, Slunge D
    Report to the Swedish Government (SOU 2019:45) · 2019