Emphasising safety and sustainability in circular design A stronger focus on safety, health and sustainability is needed in designing circular products. When basic resources are re-used in new products, health risks should be avoided.
Discussion regarding health-based guidance value of PFOA The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a provisional health-based guidance value for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
Blood spot test extended as of 1 January 2017 to include two more disorders As of 1 January 2017, the disorders alpha and beta thalassaemia will be added to the neonatal blood spot (‘heel prick’) screening programme.
Guus Velders in Nature's "Ten people that mattered this year" Researcher Dr Guus Velders of RIVM has made the Nature top-10 list of 2016. This means that, according to Nature, he was one of the 10 most influential scientists in 2016.
EFSA agrees with RIVM that potential effect of BPA on the immune system requires further attention RIVM expressed concerns on the effects of bisphenol a (BPA) on the immune system in a report issued in March 2016.
RIVM research basis for historic climate agreement on HFCs Scientific research by RIVM’s Guus Velders stood partly at the basis of the HFC global climate agreement.
RIVM recommends more stringent EU standards BPA More stringent European standards for safe exposure of workers and consumers to bisphenol A (BPA) were proposed in 2014 and 2015.
Need for circular use of materials in construction Construction and demolition waste are being recycled on a large scale to use as a foundation for e.g. roads, but recycled building materials are hardly ever used in the construction of buildings.
Newborn heel prick screening starts on St Eustatius and Saba On 26 October 2015, heel prick screening started for all newborns on St Eustatius and Saba.
Without measures emissions of HFC greenhouse gases will increase rapidly Without global agreement on the use of HFCs, their contribution to the greenhouse effect may increase sharply to 10 percent of that of CO2 by 2050. The current contribution is less than 1 percent.