Industry and policymakers are not availing themselves enough of the available scientific knowledge when it comes to smarter ways of dealing with plastics.

On Thursday 20 January, Nature Nanotechnology published the article Quantitative tracing of uptake and transport of submicrometre plastics in crop plants using lanthanide chelates as a dual-functional tracer.

Companies and organisations in the paint sector are aware that microplastics can cause problems as these particles end up in the environment where they persist and may be harmful to plants and anim

RIVM has derived temporary background values for two types of PFAS in Dutch soil: PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (perfluoro octanoic acid).

In the coming weeks, RIVM will derive a temporary background value for PFAS in Dutch soil. This will be done based on measurement data from the provinces in the Netherlands.

An assessment of potential health risks shows that graphite rain contains heavy metals and PAHs.

When garments made from synthetic materials wear, due to use and washing, microplastic fibres are released. Wastewater treatment plants remove 50 to 90 per cent of these microplastic fibres.

Today, October 10th is national Sustainability Day in the Netherlands. At RIVM, committed to health and sustainability, we raise awareness for sustainability with this year’s theme microplastics.

Perfluoro (PFAS) is a group of substances that contains PFOS, PFOA and GenX. Perfluoro substances often occur as pollution in ground water and drinking water.

Microplastics are plastic particles that are smaller than 5 millimetres; through the use of plastic or rubber products these microplastics can end up in the environment (surface water, soil, and ai