What EU chemicals policy could achieve
Monitoring what we have in our bodies
The EU Human Biomonitoring programme
Human biomonitoring (HBM) is a scientific technique that aims to assess people’s exposure to chemical pollutants by measuring the levels of these substances in human tissues and fluids (blood, hair, urine, breast milk and so on). Through linking biomonitoring results with environmental and health data, we will be able to better understand the impact of multiple exposure to harmful chemicals in our body, and decide which measures are necessary to better protect human health and the environment.
The European Union has launched an initiative to harmonise HBM data from different EU countries. The idea is to allow links to be made between trace levels of pollutants in human fluids and possible health effects so that policy makers can fine tune measures to reduce exposure to certain chemicals where necessary. Human biomonitoring can provide an early warning of potential threats to human health. It can also show that residue levels fall when a substance is banned. This has been the case for DDT. Since the ban, trace levels in breast milk have fallen. Similarly, trace levels of lead in children’s blood have fallen dramatically since the ban on leaded petrol in Europe.
No overall European inventory on human biomonitoring activities currently exists. However, the EU has committed itself to launching a pilot programme across EU countries so that biomonitoring levels will be comparable. This initiative is still in its preparatory phase.
To find out why the EU believes biomonitoring is import-ant and what they expect to gain from it, see “Human biomonitoring - breaking the divide between environment and health” at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/health/pdf/hbm_leaflet.pdf
To find out how communities are using biomonitoring to advocate for better protection from chemicals, see WWF’s Generation X report, “European Family Biomonitoring Survey”, available at: assets.panda.org/downloads/generationsx.pdf and visit the Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center http://www.commonweal.org/programs/brc/index.html
To find out more about public interest campaigns and the latest news on EU human biomonitoring initiatives, visit the Human Biomonitoring section of the Chemicals Health Monitor at http://www.chemicalshealthmonitor.org
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