Proposed European PFAS ban officially submitted The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway today took the first formal step towards a European ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by jointly submitting a restriction proposal to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
Incidence of infections that cause gastrointestinal symptoms on the rise again In 2021, the incidence of enteric infections – which mainly cause gastrointestinal symptoms – was higher than in 2020, but still lower than before the coronavirus pandemic. This is the outcome of a study into enteric infections and pathogens transmitted from animals to humans.
New WHO Collaborating Centre hosted by RIVM on Life Course and Health The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated RIVM as WHO Collaborating Centre on Life Course and Health. The Collaborating Centre will support the WHO by contributing to knowledge and research on healthy ageing over the life course. People are growing older all over the world.
PFAS levels in drinking water from river water need to be brought down The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) advises to reduce PFAS concentrations in the drinking water in parts of the Netherlands in the coming years. This concerns drinking water produced from river water.
More people sick as a result of food from their own kitchen In 2021, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) and the Municipal Public Health Service (GGD) received 14% more reports of outbreaks of food-related infections than in 20
Estimated costs of foodborne infections 140 million euros lower in 2020 In 2020, the estimated costs of foodborne infections in the Netherlands were 140 million euros lower than in the preceding year. This corresponds to a 30% decrease. ANP
Towards a sustainable, healthy future for everyone: EU project INHERIT offers policy solutions Today, on 10 December a policy toolkit will be presented at the final conference of the European four-year research project INHERIT.
Temporary background values for PFAS in Dutch soil RIVM has derived temporary background values for two types of PFAS in Dutch soil: PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (perfluoro octanoic acid).
EU air policy gives an average of 6 extra years of life in the Netherlands Since the 1970s, European policies to improve air quality have resulted in fewer emissions in many countries.
New environmental noise and health guidelines Exposure to environmental noise is expected to cause more health problems in the Netherlands. There is increasingly more noise, and new houses are being built closer to noise sources.