European Human Biomonitoring Initiative

Researcher's Chronicle | Joana Lobo Vicente, current coordinator of SPOT Nordic's Scientific Council, is a specialist in Chemicals and Environmental Health at the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen and was responsible for leading the scientific publication in support of public policies for the Chemicals Sustainability Strategy and the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

The main objective of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) was to bridge the gap between science and policy by consulting with national and international policymakers and scientists, and to produce results showing the actual exposure of residents to chemicals and the potential health risks. The residents' perspective on chemical exposure and risk was also investigated.

The research carried out in this five-and-a-half-year project was designed to answer specific short- and long-term policy questions at national and European levels, and its results were used directly to support regulatory action in relation to chemicals.

A strategy was established to prioritise chemicals for analysis in human matrices, and a total of 18 substances/groups of substances were chosen for investigation over the duration of the project. The HBM4EU project produced new results on human exposure levels, developed reference values for human exposure, investigated exposure determinants and derived health-based guidance values for these substances. In addition, HBM4EU promoted the use of human biomonitoring data in chemical risk assessment and developed innovative tools and methods to link chemicals to possible health impacts, such as biomarkers of effect.

HBM4EU also advanced understanding of the effects of combined exposure to chemicals and methods for identifying emerging chemicals. With the aim of supporting policy implementation, workshops were organised between scientists and policymakers, which provided opportunities for joint reflection and dialogue on the results of the research.

Indicators were also developed to assess the temporal and spatial patterns of exposure of the European population.

The results of some chemical exposure indicators, namely PFAS, phthalates and bisphenols, are available online:

Vicente et al. 2023. HBM4EU results support the Chemicals’ Strategy for Sustainability and the Zero-Pollution Action Plan. Int. J. Hyg. Environ. Health 248, 114111.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114111

A sustainable human biomonitoring framework, producing comparable and quality-assured data, would allow the assessment of temporal trends, the exploration of spatial trends and the evaluation of the influence of socio-economic conditions on chemical exposure. Therefore, such a framework should be included in the European Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the data collected would support the Zero Pollution Action Plan, both part of the European Green Deal.