Many different external factors affect our health. Examples include air pollution, noise, chemical substances, lifestyle and nutrition. Exposure to viruses and bacteria and the use of medicines are also part of this. Much scientific research focuses on the health effects of these factors individually, for example, in deriving safe standards for exposure to chemical substances. In practice, however, people are exposed to a combination of many factors. The SPR theme "Exposure and health effects" focuses on strategic knowledge building concerning new ways of measuring and collecting data on combined environmental exposure, and lifestyle factors. The evaluation of the impact of combined exposure on health entails measuring the biological effects involved with new methods and adopting an innovative approach to evaluate combined exposure. The goal is to improve our understanding of the individual roles of the various processes of combined exposure, that collectively impact human health. This will help to pinpoint target groups for prevention and to identify efficient public health prevention options in the future.

Since 1 June 2019, Frederieke Damme, Master of Laws, has been Chief Financial Officer responsible for the integral management of RIVM.

RIVM improves the quality of circular solutions. We help the business community and government bodies in making choices and facing dilemmas. The figure below illustrates how we work to help realise a safe, healthy, and sustainable circular economy in the policy cycle (outer circle) as well as in the raw materials cycle (inner circle).

In a circular economy, we no longer talk about waste, but about resource loops. RIVM contributes to the safe re-use of these materials. We provide assistance in considering safety, health and sustainability.

In order to successfully transition to the circular economy, it’s important to not only look at raw material savings. Solutions also have to be safe from the perspective of the environment and public health as well as financially feasible.

RIVM works towards a healthy population in a healthy human environment. That is why it is important that RIVM is also visible in society. The following infographics show its visibility: the number of people who visited the RIVM website, the most frequently visited topics and the topics mentioned most often online, and the number of people who had a question for RIVM.