Our work focuses on protecting human health against adverse influences from the environment. We perform research and award research contracts so that we can gain knowledge about the origin and extent of health-relevant environmental pollution. An interdisciplinary approach is particularly important in this process. The various fields of hygiene, medicine, natural and social sciences and epidemiology all work together, analysing the extent of the body's exposure to pollutants and combine this knowledge with data on the contamination of water, soil and air. The results are translated into practice nationwide and are continuously incorporated into standardisation and regulation at national and international level.
People in developed countries spend the majority of their lives indoors, on average about two thirds in their home. However, the quality of indoor air is not always beneficial to human health.
Toy manufacturers can now apply for the new Blue Angel ecolabel for toys to be awarded to their cuddly toys, wooden train sets, rubber balls etc. Not only must the products be exemplary in terms of pollutant content but also as concerns the social labour conditions of the extraction of raw materials and at the final assembly sites.
High temperatures and heat waves are adding up to public health problems – and the impact of climate change is becoming more noticeable also in Germany. The federal states and local authorities can draft and implement heat wave action plans to protect public health. The German Environment Agency (UBA) has developed a master plan in collaboration with many experts from various disciplines.
A special issue publication "Human Biomonitoring 2016“ has just been published. It features 34 articles which present the current status of human biomonitoring (HBM) worldwide. The volume focuses on the scientific, political strategic, European and global perspectives of HBM. All articles are available open access and online for one year.
The EU Commission is providing funding worth more than 74 million euros to the “European Human Biomonitoring Initiative – HBM4EU” project to harmonize and align the database on human biomonitoring in the EU Member States and to enhance our understanding of the health impact of exposure to pollution. The aim is to consolidate existing data and to implement joint research projects.
The first half of the Fifth German Environmental Survey (GerES V) was completed at the end of May 2016. By that time, the number of participants had reached 1,326 children and adolescents and their parents, from 101 locations. The study examines the extent to which children and adolescents in Germany are exposed to environmental stressors.
The German higher federal authorities responsible for human and environmental safety reviewed the joint research strategy "Nanotechnology - Risks related to Nanomaterials for Humans and the Environment ".
Which pollutants are people exposed to nowadays and which have diminished as a result of environmental legislation? This was one of the topics more than 300 experts from 33 countries discussed on the 2nd International Conference on Human Biomonitoring in April 2016 in Berlin. The presentations, the conference proceeding and impressions from the conference are found on the conference website.
How do pharmaceuticals get into the environment? Can residues of pharmaceuticals in water and soil harm plants, animals or even human health? What is being done to prevent this, and what can I do? The Federal Environment Agency’s background paper, which is now also available in English, sheds light on these and other questions surrounding the topic of pharmaceuticals in the environment.
Heat waves raise risk of death in heart patients by up to 15 percent
Mould is a fungus which develops typical mushroom threads and spores. Mould needs lots of moisture to grow.
Citizens want to be consulted when it comes to take important decisions. A special issue of the quarterly UMID magazine deals with the subject of civic participation and how it can be realised in the fields of environment and health.
