PURPOSE: to
present a mid-term review of the European Environment and Health Action Plan
2004-2010.
BACKGROUND: six
out of ten European citizens consider that it is "very" or
"fairly likely" that environmental pollution will damage their
health and that the European Union is not doing enough. In order to address
these concerns, the Commission adopted the European Environment and Health
Strategyin June 2003 (see INI/2003/2222)
which had 3 key objectives: (i) to reduce the disease burden caused by
environmental factors in the EU; (ii) to identify and to prevent new health
threats caused by environmental factors; (iii) to strengthen EU capacity for
policymaking in this area. The Strategy was followed up by the European
Environment and HealthAction Plan2004-2010 (see INI/2004/2132),
which emphasised the need to develop a good information base, including a
coordinated approach to human biomonitoring, and the necessity to strengthen
research on environment and health with the aim to make the assessment of the
environmental impact on human health more efficient.
The new
Sustainable Development Strategy adopted by the Council in June 2006
shows that the importance given to the impacts of the environment on public
health is incorporated in Europe’s vision for the future.
This
Communication is part of the overall movement.
CONTENT: the
purpose of this Communication is to review and to present the progress
achieved at the mid-term of the Action Plan, to briefly describe the
developments in the relevant policies referred to in the Action Plan such as
chemicals, air, water and noise, and to highlight areas that should receive
particular attention in the future.
Progress on
the implementation of the Action Plan: the Action
Plan identified 13 actions with a focus on (1) improving the information chain
by developing integrated environment and health information; (2) filling the
knowledge gap by strengthening research on environment and health and
identifying emerging issues; (3) reviewing and adjusting risk reduction
policy and improving communication. In these different areas the Commission
notes that:
- concerning
improving the information chain: there are
many EU-wide environment and health monitoring
and information systems which aim to improve the level of information
and protection. The review aims to increase linkage and integration
between existing systems in order to enhance efforts on research and
human biomonitoring and improve data collection procedures;
- concerning
filling the knowledge gap: several Community funded projects were launchedto integrate
and strengthen EU environment and health research. Since 2004, the
Commission has launchedtargeted research projects on diseases,
disorders and exposures. Community research has focused on the
causes of asthma and allergy, on the causes and mechanisms of
neuro-immune disorders, on the health effects of exposure to metals, on
the development of EU networks to promote research into uncommon cancers
and on the identification of gene-environment interactions involved in
the development of cancer. The aims for 2007-2010 are to study the
causes of environment-related diseases and to investigate the long-term
health impacts of exposure to environmental stressors. These projects
will contribute to many EU policies concerning the assessment of risks
of exposure to chemicals in particular. A series of other projects were
launched to identify the potential hazards on the environment and
health, in the field of climate change, water quality and risk
assessment of nanotechnologies. For 2007-2010, the effects of climate
change on human and animal health and the potential risks fromnanoparticles to human health will be
investigated;
- in terms
of adjusting risk reduction policy and improving communication: several projects linked to air quality were launched to
reduce active and passive smoking. A project on electromagnetic field
(EMF) issues built a network of EU policy makers on EMF issues. Educational
materials on children’s environment were produced to be used by trainers
to improve the knowledge of professionals and personnel working in
health care (including under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6)). Other
measures have been put in place regarding respiratory diseases, cardiovascular
diseases, cancer, neurodevelopment disorders and endocrine related
impacts. Significant progress has been made in better identification of
the mechanisms for coordinating risk reduction measures. However, more
work needs to be done in linking research on these priority diseases. At
the same time, the Commission mandated the Scientific Committee on
Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) to deliver an opinion on a
possible risk assessment strategy to support policy on the indoor air
issue. The SCHER already issued a separate opinion on air fresheners in
January 2006. Afterwards, an expert working group was established in
October 2006 to follow up the opinions of the Scientific Committee and
two FP6 projects focused on issues related to indoor air quality. Measuring
campaigns in several European cities were carried out by the Joint Research
Centre (JRC) to monitor indoor/outdoor and personal exposure
concentrations of selected substances. Lastly, the SCENIHR adopted an
opinion on "Possible effects of Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) on
Human Health" in March 2007 followed by possible projects under the
Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
Progress on
food policies: the Action Plan also envisaged
improvements in the following areas:
- water: a Water Information System for Europe (WISE) has been
further developed by the Commission and should enable further integration
of drinking water data. A Commission proposal for revising the Drinking
Water Directive is foreseen for the end of 2008;
- air: in 2004, the last of the air quality 'daughter' directives was
adopted, setting target values for arsenic, nickel, cadmium and
benzo(a)pyrene in ambient air. The Commission adopted in 2005 the Thematic
Strategy on Air Pollution and the proposal for the Directive on Ambient
Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe. The Commission proposal for new heavy
duty vehicle emission standard EURO VI is scheduled for 2007;
- chemicals: further to the Mercury Strategy, a number of proposals have
been adopted by the Commission since then with a view to banning mercury
for certain uses within the EU. At the same time, the SCHER is working
on a request for an opinion on the environmental risks and indirect
health effects of mercury in dental amalgam;
- plant
protection products: the Commission adopted a
Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides and a proposal
for a Framework Directive, which will impose appropriate training for
professional users, restrict the use of pesticides in certain areas and start
the development of relevant indicators. Regarding chemicals, an important
step was reached with the final adoption of the REACH Regulation in December
2006, which will enter into force in June 2007 and impose gathering
information on toxicological properties of chemicals;
- environmental
and industrial contaminants in food: maximum
levels are set in EU legislation and sampling and analysis provisions
are set out for monitoring compliance with these in order to ensure
consumer safety;
- noise: the Commission effectively contributed to the WHO Night
Time Noise Guidelines project over the last 3 years, from which the
results will be used in the framework of Commission activities in 2007
to review the health effects of noise.
Next steps: in the next 3 years, the Commission, in close cooperation with
Member States, will continue to implement the various actions foreseen in the
Action Plan. To this end, the Commission will maintain its focus on the
integration of environment and health concerns into other policies as well as
on the integration of the many actors involved. In order to strengthen EU
capacity for policymaking in this area, the Commission will gradually step up
its effort to exploit the outcomes of research projects and other information
gathering efforts and their translation into policy.
In 2010, the
Commission will identify the elements to be addressed in the next cycle.