Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee - "Mid Term Review of the European Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010" {SEC(2007) 777}
Date: 2007-06-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU policy, EU programme, action programme, environmental policy, health policy

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 11.6.2007 
COM(2007) 314 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE 

"Mid Term Review of the  
European Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010" 

{SEC(2007) 777}

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1. 

CONTEXT 

European  citizens  are  concerned  about  the  environment  they  live  in,  about  their  health  and 
about their quality of life. Six out of ten European citizens consider that it is "very" or "fairly 
likely" that environmental pollution will damage their health1 and that the European Union is 
not doing enough.2 European citizens also indicated that the environment is a driving force for 
innovation,  and  that  environmental  protection  policies  are  incentives  to  progress  rather than 
obstacles to economic performance3. 

In order to address these concerns, the Commission had adopted the European Environment 
&  Health  Strategy4  in  June  2003.  This  Strategy  had  the  ultimate  objectives  to  reduce  the 
disease  burden  caused  by  environmental  factors  in  the  EU,  to  identify  and  to  prevent  new 
health  threats  caused  by  environmental  factors  and  to  strengthen  EU  capacity  for 
policymaking  in  this  area.  The  Strategy  was  followed  up  by  the European  Environment  & 
Health Action Plan 2004-20105, which emphasised the need to develop a good information 
base,  including  a  coordinated  approach  to  human  biomonitoring,  and  the  necessity  to 
strengthen  research  on  environment  and  health  with  the  aim  to  make  the  assessment  of  the 
environmental impact on human health more efficient. Both the Strategy and the Action Plan 
got the support from the other EU institutions6.  

Clear indication of the importance given to the impacts of the environment on public health 
was also included in Europe’s vision for the future in the renewed Sustainable Development 
Strategy agreed by the Council in June 20067. Moreover, savings made and to be made in the 
health  sector  by  taking  appropriate  action  contribute  to  the  goals  of  the  Lisbon  Agenda. 
Currently asthma affects 30 million people across the continent8 and costs healthcare services 
approximately €17.7billion a year9. 

Further, the experience on environment and health integration achieved so far can be used as 
an example of effective inter-sectoral work for Health in All Policies, which was a priority of 
the Finnish Presidency and followed-up by the Commission in the EU Health Strategy.  

The purpose of this Communication is to review and to present the progress achieved at the 
mid-term  of  the  Action  Plan,  to  describe  briefly  the  developments  in  the  relevant  policies 
referred to in the Action Plan such as chemicals, air, water and noise and to highlight areas 
that should receive particular attention in the future.  

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 
9 

Special Eurobarometer 238, (2006) on Risk Issues 
Eurobarometer 217, (2005) 
Eurobarometer 215, (2005) 
COM(2003)338 
COM(2004)416 
Council Conclusions on Strategy, European Parliament Resolutions on Strategy and Action Plan, European Economic and Social 
Committee  Opinion  on  the  Action  Plan.  Dutch  and  Luxembourg  presidencies  conferences  in  December  2004  and  June  2005 
respectively. 
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/06/st10/st10917.en06.pdf 
GINA Global Initiative for Asthma. The Global Burden of Asthma Report, 2004. 
The European Lung White Book: The First Comprehensive Survey on Respiratory Health in Europe 2003. 

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2. 

INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH 

It  is  understood  that  health  considerations  have  already  driven  much  of  the  legislative 
framework  for  environmental  protection  over  the  last  30  years.  Similarly,  damage  to  the 
environment  has  triggered  public  health  action  and  influenced  a  number  of  public  health 
policies. However, the Strategy and the Action Plan have boosted new initiatives to integrate 
environment and health. They have also underlined the important human health component of 
many  environmental  policies,  highlighting  thereby  the  need  for  an  effective  implementation 
and a coordinated approach. This also calls for the strengthening of the information base to 
assess the effectiveness of existing policies and the need for new ones.  

A  detailed  analysis  of  the  information  base  carried  out  in  200610  clearly  demonstrated  that 
many  environment  and  health  information  systems  have  already  been  put  in  place,  but  that 
efforts  must  be  sustained  on  the  long-term  to  improve  the  integration  and  compatibility 
between the systems, where relevant, as well as data quality and comparability. In particular, 
representative data on actual human exposure to environmental pollutants and potential health 
effects of such pollutants generated by Human Biomonitoring (HBM)11 should be gathered in 
a  comparable  manner.  To  this  end,  the  Commission  triggered  an  intensive  cooperation 
between  Member  States  to  address  the  major  difficulties  (data  interpretation,  ethics, 
communication) to be overcome before HBM can reach its full potential..  

The  Commission  in  close  cooperation  with  Member  States  also  succeeded  in  concentrating 
research funding on priority diseases and on environment & health interactions in the Sixth 
Framework  Programme  of  Research  (FP6)  (2002-2006)12.  Both  Council  and  Parliament 
supported the need for further efforts in this area under the Seventh Framework Programme of 
Research (FP7) (2007-2013)13, such as human biomonitoring, indoor air quality and long-term 
health impacts of early exposures to environmental stressors. The Commission will continue 
to  devote  efforts  to  exploit  the  outcomes  of  the  projects  and  their  usefulness  for  possible 
policy  action.  Translating  these  results  into  policy  action  is  a  long-term  priority  and  will 
increase in prominence during the implementation of the Action Plan.  

The responsibility for making progress in this complex area must be shared between Member 
States,  the  Commission,  international  organisations  such  as  the  World  Health  Organisation 
and  other  stakeholders.  The  Commission  has  therefore  involved  Member  States  and 
stakeholders since the start of this process and will surely maintain this effort. A strengthened 
cooperation between environment policy, health policy and the corresponding research fields 
is  one  of  the  major  achievements  over  the  last  3  years,  leading  to  the  development  of  an 
integrated environment and health policy field, which must be taken up by a range of policy 
areas  such  as  transport,  energy,  chemicals,  employment.  The  Commission  will  step  up  its 
efforts  to  that  end,  in  particular  for  issues  such  as  indoor  and  outdoor  air  as  well  as  health 
effects  of  climate  change,  where  integration  is  deemed  essential.  To  achieve  this  goal,  an 
integrated  approach  is  needed  within  the  framework  of  the  Community’s  Sustainable 
Development Strategy.  

Efforts  have  also  concentrated  on  emerging  issues  such  as  nanotechnology,  where  the 
integrated  and  responsible" 
Commission  proposes  concrete  steps 

towards  a  "safe, 

10 
11 
12 
13 

(SEC(2006)1461 User friendly brochure on http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/health/index_en.htm 
Measuring pollutants in human tissues and fluids. 
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp6/ 
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html 

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development of nanotechnology, which means that environment, health and social aspects of 
nanotechnology  need  to  be  considered  at  the  earliest  possible  stage14.  Further  focus  was  on 
new  issues  such  as  antimicrobial  resistance,  an  environmental  problem  with  impacts  on 
human health15. The Commission is in the process of preparing a request for an opinion of the 
responsible risk assessment bodies to assess the antibiotic resistance effects of biocides. Also 
the effects of climate change on health was subject of different EU funded projects16 and will 
continue to be investigated under FP6 and FP7. A "Communication on Health Consequences 
of Climate Change" will be proposed in 2008.  

In several research projects the Commission has given special attention to vulnerable groups, 
such  as  children  that  are  particularly  sensitive  to  damaging  environmental  exposures.  The 
Commission will continue to give special attention to vulnerable groups. 

3. 

PROGRESS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION PLAN - HIGHLIGHTS 

The Action Plan identified 13 actions with a focus on (1) improving the information chain by 
developing  integrated  environment  &  health  information;  (2)  filling  the  knowledge  gap  by 
strengthening  research  on  environment  &  health  and  identifying  emerging  issues;  (3) 
reviewing and adjusting risk reduction policy and improving communication. 

Improving the information chain 

The  main  conclusion  of  the  review17  of  current  environment  &  health  information  and 
monitoring  systems  undertaken  by  the  Commission  in  2006  is  that  a  number  of  EU-wide 
environment  &  health  monitoring  and  information  systems  exist  and  that  assessment 
strategies are in place to cover the range of environmental impacts expected to affect human 
health.  In  many  cases  further  development  is  under  way  to  improve  the  level  of  protection. 
The review makes concrete recommendations for increasing linkage and integration between 
existing systems, enhancing efforts on research and human biomonitoring, and improving data 
collection procedures. 

Since  2004  the  Commission  has  collaborated  closely  with  Member  States  and  experts  to 
prepare an EU pilot project18 on human biomonitoring (HBM) to test out the feasibility of a 
coherent HBM approach in Europe. The 1st calls for proposals under FP719 reserved funding 
for  an  EU  network  on  HBM20  to  fund  the  EU  Pilot  Project.  The  pilot  phase  will  focus  on 
capacity-building and harmonisation of procedures, on the future policy role of HBM, and on 
appropriate communication at individual and at Community level. For the post-pilot phase the 
Commission  is  exploring  the  possibility  to  embed  future  HBM  activities  in  an  established 

14 
15 

16 
17 
18 
19 
20 

Nanotechnology Action Plan 2005-2009 
http://www.who.int/foodborne_disease/resistance/en/ 
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs194/en/ 
http://www.emea.eu.int/pdfs/vet/regaffair/081899en.pdf 
http://www.antibioticos.msc.es/PDF/resist_emea_paper_on_antibiotic_resistance.pdf 
http://www.oie.int/eng/publicat/ouvrages/A_119.htm 
http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c11561.htm 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_information/dissemination/unexpected/unexpected_2_en.htm 
SEC(2006)1461 
www.http://www.eu-humanbiomonitoring.org 
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html 
Environment theme of Cooperation Programme in Environment & Health sub-activity. 

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framework such as the EU Health Examination Survey21 and will ensure that HBM is linked 
to  the  existing  regulatory  frameworks.  In  FP6,  the  JRC  initiated  the  investigation  on 
application of metabonomics for HBM. 

Filling the knowledge gap  

Several  Community  funded  projects  were  launched  to  integrate  and  strengthen  EU 
environment & health research. Since 2004 the final results of the projects were analysed, 
consolidated  and  conferences  and  workshops  were  organised  to  highlight  the  results.  An 
overview  of  the  key  results  is  given  in  Table  2.  The  aims  for  2007-2010  are  to  analyse  the 
interim and final results ; to organise workshops on targeted environment & health issues to 
highlight the research results and to identify research needs for the future calls for proposals 
to be implemented in Community Programmes.  

The  Commission  has  launched  targeted  research  projects  on  diseases,  disorders  and 
exposures. Since 2004 Community research has focused on the causes of asthma and allergy, 
on the causes and mechanisms of neuro-immune disorders22, on the health effects of exposure 
to metals, on the development of EU networks to promote research into uncommon cancers 
and  on  the  identification  of  gene-environment  interactions  involved  in  the  development  of 
cancer in high-risk populations23. The aims for 2007-2010 are to study causes of environment-
related  diseases  and  to  investigate  long-term  health  impacts  of  exposure  to  environmental 
stressors, taking advantage of existing cohorts or possibly starting new cohorts. By enhancing 
scientific  basis  of  understanding  of  associations  between  exposures  to  especially  chemicals 
and health impacts, these projects will contribute to many EU policies concerning assessment 
of risks of exposure to chemicals24.  

The  Commission  funded  several  projects  to  develop  methodological  systems  to  analyse 
environment & health interactionsThe projects aim at improving the methods and models 
necessary to carry out integrated risk assessment including combined exposures and they will 
improve methods and tools for health impact assessment and cost/benefit analyses. The aims 
for  2004-2006  were  to  develop  integrated  risk  assessment  methodologies  and  models  for 
evaluating  cumulative  effects,  interaction  between  stressors  and  their  influence  on  human 
health;  and  methodologies, 
in 
techniques,  and  models 
environment/health  interactions25.  The  Commission  also  aimed  to  develop  accounting 
frameworks  incorporating  externalities  associated  with  various  environmental  stressors,  the 
assessment  of  health-related  externalities,  and  definition  of  sustainability  thresholds. 
Furthermore, studies were launched to extend and validate methods and tools for environment 
&  health  impact  assessment,  cost/benefit  analysis  and  the  identification  of  sources  of 
pollution26  and  to  assess  health  benefits  of  food  against  the  health  risks  of  potential 
environmental  contaminants27.  The  aims  for  2007-2010  are  to  analyse  the  policy  relevance 
results of FP5 and FP6 projects as regards  (i) integrated risk assessment methodologies and 
models;  (ii)  methods  and  tools  for  environment  and  health  impact  assessment,  cost/benefit 

to  address  complexity 

21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_information/dissemination/reporting/ehss_06_en.htm 
Total EC contribution to these projects: €28M (Table 6) 
Total EC contribution to these projects: €30M 
See tables in Annex III 
Total EC contribution to these projects: €35M (Table 9) 
Total EC contribution to these projects: €11M (Table 10) 
total EC contribution to these projects: €5M (Table 11) 

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analysis and the identification of sources of pollution; and (iii) risk/benefit analysis of foods 
affected by environmental pollution. 

The  projects  funded  to  ensure  that  potential  hazards  on  environment  &  health  are 
identified  and  addressed  will  provide  research  support  for  policy  actions  in  the  field  of 
climate  change,  water  quality  and  risk  assessment  of  nanotechnologies.  The  aims  for  2004-
2006 were to explore how health sector planning can be improved for future extreme weather 
events, to facilitate rapid assessment of emerging threats, to launch a research action on the 
assessment  of  Global  Change-driven  factors  linked  to  the  risk  of  introducing  and  spreading 
emerging  human  diseases  and  to  address  topics  such  as:  (i)  climate  change  and  health;  (ii) 
water  pollution  including  emerging  pathogens  in  drinking  water  sources;  and  (iii)  possible 
environmental health impacts of nanoparticles.28  

For 2007-2010 effects of climate change on human and animal health and the potential risks 
from nanoparticles to human health will be investigated. 

Reviewing and adjusting risk reduction policy and improving communication 

Progress  was  made  on  developing  public  health  activities  and  networking  on 
environmental health determinants Environment and Health is a key priority in the PHP29 
and has been covered in each of the yearly work programmes. Several projects linked to air 
quality  were  launched  to  reduce  active  and  passive  smoking  (see  below).  A  project  on 
electromagnetic field (EMF) issues finalised in 200530 built a network of EU policy makers 
on  EMF  issues,  an  operational  science/policy  interface  and  communication  tools  that 
improved communication to the public.  

Efforts  were  done  on  promoting  training  of  professionals  and  improving  organisational 
capacity  in  environment  and  health.  Education  is  primarily  the  responsibility  of  the 
Member States and the Action Plan calls on them to take the necessary measures. At EU level 
some  facilitating  work  was  done  using  the  PHP.  However,  no  projects  were  submitted. 
Educational materials on children’s environment, health and safety were produced to be used 
by trainers to improve the knowledge of professionals and personnel working in health care31. 
A majority of the FP6 projects have developed extensive training programmes at EU level for 
environment  and  health  professionals  and  scientists,  which  include  targeted  courses  or 
summer schools for interested stakeholders and web-based initiatives. 

Progress  was  made  on  co-ordinating  ongoing  risk  reduction  measures  on  the  priority 
diseases.  The  main  risk  reduction  measures  put  in  place  are  on  respiratory  diseases, 
cardiovascular diseases, cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders and endocrine-related impacts. 
Significant progress has been made in better identification of the mechanisms for coordinating 
risk reduction measures. However, more work needs to be done in linking research on priority 
diseases  to  appropriate  policy  processes  and  information  systems.  Some  of  the  potential 
actions  for  further  progress  to  be  explored  are:  use  of  the  EU  Health  portal  section,  My 
Environment;  development  of  relevant  questions  for  health  interview  and  examination 
surveys, pooling health  information  systems on priority disease  incidence and mortality and 

28 
29 
30 
31 

Total EC contribution to these projects: €25M (Table 12) 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_programme/programme_en.htm 
http://www.jrc.ec.europa.eu/eis-emf/home.cfm 
Children's health, environmental and safety training - 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_projects/2003/action3/action3_2003_09_en.htm 

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health-related costs, in coordination, whenever relevant, with the European Statistical System. 
Improving indoor air quality was done by several activities. The Commission adopted the 
Green  paper  “Towards  a  Europe  free  from  tobacco  smoke:  policy  options  at  EU  level32”  in 
January  2007  and  launched  a  broad  consultation  process,  on  the  best  way  to  tackle  passive 
smoking in the EU. Currently, the Commission is preparing a follow-up initiative on smoke-
free  environments,  due  to  be  adopted  in  2008  and  a  report  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Council  Recommendation33  on  the  prevention  of  smoking  and  on  initiatives  to  improve 
tobacco control.  

In May 2005 the Commission mandated the SCHER to deliver an opinion on a possible risk 
assessment  strategy  to  support  policy  on  the  indoor  air  issue,  to  identify  potential  areas  of 
concern in relation to the different pollutants and to consider risks associated with the use of 
air fresheners. The SCHER issued a separate opinion34 on air fresheners in January 2006. On 
the  other  questions  of  the  mandate  the  Committee  issued  a  preliminary  report  for  public 
consultation in January 2007.  

An  expert  working  group  was  established  in  October  2006  to  follow  up  the  opinions  of  the 
Scientific Committee and to fulfil the expectations from the political side, Member States and 
other  stakeholders35  who  asked  the  Commission  to  use  a  wide  approach  and  take  concrete 
actions on a number of pollutants/areas.  

2 FP6 projects are focused on issues related to indoor air quality3637. Measuring campaigns in 
several European cities were carried out by the JRC to monitor indoor/outdoor and personal 
exposure concentrations of selected substances38. In 2006, the JRC issued a milestone report 
describing strategies to determine and control the contribution of indoor air pollution to total 
inhalation exposure39.  

The  Commission  will  continue  supporting  research  activities  on  indoor  air  quality.  Future 
actions will focus on information to the public and professionals, exchange of best practices at 
national and local level and on coordination of ongoing policies linked to indoor air quality.  

The  SCENIHR  has  adopted  an  opinion  on  "Possible  effects  of  Electromagnetic  Fields 
(EMF) on Human Health" on 21 March 200740.  The  PHP  and  FP7  will  continue  to  provide 
support to projects addressing the research gaps identified. The Commission can also count on 
the EMF-NET41, a large EU network of scientists and experts that reviews and evaluates the 
emerging  scientific  evidence  on  possible  health  impacts  from  human  exposure  to  EMF.  In 
addition product standards have been adopted under internal market legislation and updated to 
ensure  that  products  that  are  placed  on  the  market  and  put  into  service  will  not  expose  the 
public beyond levels that have been recognised by science as save. 

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34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39
40 

41 

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/Tobacco/keydo_tobacco_en.htm 
2003/54/EC. http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c11574.htm 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scher/scher_opinions_en.htm 
Parliament Resolution, Final A6 – 0008/2005;Dutch and Luxembourg Presidency conferences, December 2004, June 2005 
http://indoorairenvie.cstb.fr/ 
http://www.proneteurope.eu 
European indoor air monitoring and exposure assessment project – www.jrc.ec.europa/project/airmex/index.htm. 
STRATEX http://www.jrc.cec.eu.int/pce/modnoiseca_ecareports.htm 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/scenihr_opinions_en.htm.  Conclusions 
Annexes 
http://www.jrc.cec.eu.int/emf-net/.  

summarised 

in  Technical 

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4. 

SUMMARY  OF  PROGRESS  ON  HEALTH  RELATED  ENVIRONMENTAL  POLICIES  AND 
RELEVANT FOOD POLICIES 

As  the  overall  objective  of  the  Action  Plan  is  to  integrate  environment  and  health  and  to 
ensure that human health aspects are duly taken into account in environmental policy and vice 
versa,  its  effective  implementation  is  dependant  on  the  specific  environment  and  health 
policies.  In  this  respect,  a  number  of  new  initiatives  have  been  adopted  since  2004  with  a 
view  to  decreasing  the  risk  to  human  health  and  gathering  better  information.  These  are 
summarisedbelow.  

A Water Information System for Europe (WISE) has been further developed and endorsed by 
the  Commission  Services,  the  European  Environment  Agency  and  Member  States.  Further 
development including the integration of drinking water data is foreseen in a detailed WISE 
Implementation Plan; new WISE-oriented reporting guidelines have been developed and are 
foreseen for final endorsement by the end of 2007. A Commission Proposal for revising the 
Drinking  Water  Directive  is  foreseen  for end  of  2008.  The  Commission  adopted  a  proposal 
for  a  new  Directive  to  protect  surface  water  from  pollution42,  which  will  set  limits  on 
concentrations in surface waters of 41 chemical substances that pose a risk to animal and plant 
life in the aquatic environment and to human health.  

In  2004  the  last  of  the  air  quality  'daughter'  directives43  has  been  adopted,  setting  target 
values  for  arsenic,  nickel,  cadmium  and  benzo(a)pyrene  in  ambient  air.  The  Commission 
adopted in 2005 the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution44 and the proposal for the Directive 
on  Ambient  Air  Quality  and  Cleaner  Air  for  Europe45.  The  Commission  proposal  for  new 
heavy duty vehicle emission standard EURO VI proposal is scheduled in 2007, as well as the 
revision of the existing legislation on industrial emissions46.  

Much has been done in the chemicals sector. Further to the Mercury Strategy47, adopted in 
2005, a number of proposals have been adopted by the Commission since then with a view to 
banning  mercury  for  certain  uses  within  the  EU48,  banning  mercury  exports  from  the  EU49 
from  2011  and  imposing  safe  storage  of  unused  mercury.  The  SCENIHR  is  currently 
assessing the safety of dental amalgam and alternative dental restoration materials for patients 
and  users50.  In  parallel,  the  SCHER  is  working  on  a  request  for  an  opinion  on  the 
environmental risks and indirect health effects of mercury in dental amalgam51.  

A proposal has been made to improve the procedure for placing plant protection products on 
the market. In addition and with a view to decreasing the overall risk from pesticides use in 
the  EU,  the  Commission  adopted  both  a  Thematic  Strategy  on  the  Sustainable  Use  of 
Pesticides52  and  a  proposal  for  a  Framework  Directive53,  which  will  inter  alia  impose 
appropriate  training  for  professional  users,  restrict  the  use  of  pesticides  in  certain  areas  and 

42 
43 
44 
45 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 
51 
52 
53 

COM(2006)397 
2004/107/EC 
COM(2005) 446 
COM(2005) 447 
IPPC 96/61/EC 
COM(2005)20 
COM(2006)69 
COM(2006)636 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_q_009.pdf 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scher/docs/scher_q_050.pdf 
COM(2006) 372 
COM(2006) 373 

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start  the  development  of  relevant  indicators.  The  priority  list  of  substances  for  further 
evaluation of their role in endocrine disruption recently established will be taken into account 
by regulators when drafting legislation as the list ranks the substances according to possible 
effects  to  wildlife,  human  health  and  to  exposure  concerns.  Regarding  chemicals,  an 
important  step  has  been  reached  with  the  final  adoption  of  the  REACH  Regulation54  in 
December 2006, which will enter into force in June 2007 and impose gathering information 
on  toxicological  properties  of  chemicals  through  the  EU  Chemicals  Agency.  REACH 
recognises  endocrine  disrupters  as  substances  of  very  high  concern  and  they  will  thus  be 
covered under the authorisation regime. An important development in relation to the Strategy 
on  Dioxins  &  PCBs  was  the  adoption  in  2004  of  the  Regulation  on  persistent  organic 
pollutants (POPs)55 and the Community Implementation Plan on POPs56 listing EU measures, 
including measures to further address industrial and domestic sources for dioxin emissions in 
the coming years.  

For  environmental  and  industrial  contaminants  in  food.  maximum  levels  are  set  in  EU 
legislation and sampling and analysis provisions are set out for monitoring compliance with 
these in order to ensure consumer safety.  

Regarding  exposure  to  noise  and  associated  health  effects,  the  Commission  effectively 
contributed  to  the  WHO  Night  Time  Noise  Guidelines  project  over  the  last  3  years,  from 
which  the  results  will  be  used  in  the  frame  of  Commission  activities  in  2007  to  review  the 
health  effects  of  noise.  In  the  Nanotechnology  Strategy57  and  Action  Plan  2005-2009  the 
Commission  proposes  concrete  steps 
integrated  and  responsible" 
development of nanotechnology, which means that environment, health and social aspects of 
nanotechnology  need  to  be  considered  at  the  earliest  possible  stage.  One  of  the  activities  in 
2006 was to review current regulatory frameworks to find out whether they adequately cover 
manufactured nanomaterials and provide sufficient protection against their effects.  

towards  a  "safe, 

5. 

CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS 

While  3  years  is  a  short  period  for  the  implementation  of  any  major  action  plan,  the 
strengthened cooperation between the environment, health and research fields at Community 
and Member States level is a true achievement. 

In the next 3 years, the Commission in close cooperation with Member States will continue to 
implement the various actions foreseen in the Action Plan. To this end, the Commission will 
maintain its focus on the integration of environment and health concerns into other policies as 
well as on the integration of the many actors involved. In order to strengthen EU capacity for 
policymaking  in  this  area,  the  Commission  will  gradually  step  up  its  effort  to  exploit  the 
outcomes  of  research  projects  and  other  information  gathering  efforts  and  their  translation 
into policy.  

54 
55 
56 
57 

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach_intro.htm 
Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 amending Directive 79/117/EEC, OJ L 158, 30.4.2004. 
SEC(2007)341 
COM (2004) 338 

EN 

9 

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In 2010 the Commission will identify the elements to be addressed in the next cycle. 

The Commission will present this midterm review in the Intergovernmental Midterm Review 
meeting on Environment and Health in Vienna in June 2007.  

EN 

10 

   EN