The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management wants to revise soil regulations in the coming years. The existing standards and rules governing the reuse of secondary building materials, soil and dredged material are no longer up to date and need to be reviewed.

Only 7 percent of plastic packaging in the Netherlands is reused as material for new packaging. The Dutch government aims to ensure that by 2050, no packaging is made from (new) fossil-based resources.

Babies develop fewer antibodies against pertussis (whooping cough) if the mother is given the pertussis vaccine before the 24th week of pregnancy. These findings are from a multi-year study carried out by RIVM among preterm and full-term babies and their mothers.

RIVM and Wageningen University researchers expect the tick bite season to reach its peak in the next few weeks. The peak will coincide with the start of the summer holidays.

The new COVID-19 vaccination round will start on 16 September 2024. For people who are at higher risk, the COVID-19 vaccination offers more effective protection against hospital admission or death due to COVID-19.

RIVM has reviewed the criteria of the Stookwijzer. Based on these new insights, RIVM recommends that households do not light wood fires in winds of 2 or less on the Beaufort scale. In such circumstances, the Stookwijzer will issue a code red.

Herbal preparations that contain Mucuna pruriens seeds are sold online in the Netherlands. RIVM has examined whether these preparations are harmful to health. Very little scientific information about Mucuna pruriens is publicly available.

Nitrate concentrations in the groundwater have been decreasing in all soil types since 2021. This decrease is due to a number of factors, including due to increased precipitation following the dry spell between 2018 and 2020.