Tag: health and environment

A 'European Partnership for Action against Cancer' to be launched this autumn will aim to screen 100% of the population for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer by 2013, the European Commission announced.

The EU could save up to €25 billion every year by introducing more ambitious climate policies, according to a new study by health and environment NGOs.

As the health effects of climate change are already being observed, the EU should quickly boost its response capacity by improving early warning and surveillance of infectious diseases and establishing a sound communication system with the population, argues the World Health Organisation's Dr. Nata Menabde in an interview with EurActiv. 

As the EU's pesticides package moves into the final stages of adoption, new research shows that all Spaniards are affected by at least one type of pesticide, fungicide or insecticide classified internationally as potentially harmful to human health.

The Commission is working on a new tool to measure the wealth and wellbeing of countries beyond the traditional GDP. The new tool will aim to measure 'true' progress, taking environmental and social indicators into consideration.

Climate change is not only about heatwaves and infectious diseases, says Sari Kovats from the London School of Tropical Medicine. Predicted effects on health also include respiratory diseases during winter, diarrhoea and malnutrition, she told EurActiv in an interview ahead of Commission proposals to tackle the issue, due out next year.

The current debate on climate change neglects a number of issues concerning energy as a major determinant of human health, argues Dr Richard Horton in a medical journal. He urges the adoption of 'safe nuclear' as a bridge between fossil fuels and renewables.

A World Health Organization (WHO) report presenting country-specific data argues the case for disease prevention via environmental initiatives. 

Analysis of blood, tissue, urine or hair samples to detect the presence of certain substances in the human body, known as human biomonitoring (HBM), can provide a useful link between environmental pollution and health, but the interpretation of data is still controversial, panellists agreed during a Green Week debate.

Research on nanotechnologies' potential benefits is not enough, argues a United Nations report, which calls for more investment into investigating the effects of nanoparticles on human health and the environment.

Biomonitoring involves taking samples of blood, tissue, urine or hair to detect the presence of certain substances in the human body. The process is today used by environmental campaigners, lobbyists and the EU Commission as a tool to assess human exposure to pollution as part of health and environmental policy-making. However, the lack of scientific knowledge on the paths taken by the pollutants and their actual risk for human health is making biomonitoring a controversial issue.

After a remarkably cold winter, the first signs of ozone depletion have been observed in the Arctic. If the low temperatures persist during the coming months, large ozone losses will be highly likely this spring.

A study by the WHO identified injuries including road traffic accidents, lead intoxication, air pollution and poor water quality supply as the biggest child killers in Europe.

With the eastern enlargement of the EU, more attention is being drawn to the fact that the citizens of the less wealthy Central and Eastern European countries have poorer health and shorter life expectancy than those in Western Europe. In addition to the east-west gap in health, differences in health between socioeconomic groups have increased in many countries as socio-economic determinants such as education, employment and life-style affect the health.