Exchange with Netherlands Institute for Health and Environment
How should we deal with the multitude of PFAS in soil, air, and water? What joint research is being conducted on human biomonitoring? The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) traveled from Bilthoven, near Utrecht, to Dessau to discuss these questions with experts from the German Environment Agency (UBA).
The delegation from the Netherlands raised many topics: What impact do large industrial sites have on human health? How can we reduce the risks and better protect the population from exposure to pollutants? The experts from the UBA contributed similar concepts: Which environmental pollutants are associated with particularly high rates of disease? What is the status of the joint research strategy on novel materials, such as nanocarriers, that are used in medicine? Working in small groups, the experts discussed various approaches.
They also discussed potential challenges in implementing the EU Soil Monitoring Directive. The UBA and RIVM are both partners in the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC). Two hundred institutions from 28 countries and three EU agencies are involved.
The exchange was of great importance to both the UBA and the RIVM. The heads of the relevant departments at both agencies emphasized that they would like to continue working together on these issues in the future. They intend to continue their dialogue on topics relevant at the EU level with particular intensity.