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Action 3: Develop a coherent approach to Human Biomonitoring in Europe

Human biomonitoring includes monitoring of biomarkers in e.g. blood, hair, urine that are indicative of environmental exposures, diseases and/or disorders and genetic susceptibility, and their potential relationships. Human Biomonitoring is not an automatic instrument, which can be considered in isolation, but has to be integrated with environmental monitoring, toxicological and eco-toxicological data and especially with considerations related to analytical epidemiology.

In different Member States, a substantial number of Human Biomonitoring projects are running and significant resources are devoted to these efforts. Similar aspects are addressed in nearly all countries: exposures to heavy metals, dioxins & PCBs and outcomes, such as asthma, allergy and neurodevelopmental disorders. However, most of these relate to research projects established with different scientific goals and different methodologies, and it is therefore difficult to compare the data generated by these projects. Moreover, data collected under research actions are often permitted under a limited remit and may not be available for more general Human Biomonitoring activities.

Coordination of the ongoing Human Biomonitoring activities in Europe will contribute to better data comparability between countries and will allow a better integration of information by bringing together available knowledge and by actively promoting exchange of experiences between teams and countries. It will also enable a more effective use of resources through shared development of tools and strategies.

When there is an indication of a link between an environmental stressor and a particular health outcome, Human Biomonitoring can provide public authorities with a more comprehensive view of actual exposure. This can guide them in the development of regulatory strategies for disease prevention and exposure reduction measures, provide a warning signal on urgency, allow follow-up of the efficiency of reduction strategies and allow the development of policies which take into account geographical variation. EXAMPLE: Cotinine is a metabolite of nicotine that can be measured in blood and urine. Cotinine levels are used to track exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) among non-smokers and to estimate exposure to ETS in every day-life situations on an individual basis and also on children. Higher cotinine levels indicate more exposure to ETS, which has been identified as a human carcinogen.

The Commission is fully aware of the difficulties and limitations of Human Biomonitoring, such as agreeing harmonised and validated criteria and methods both for carrying out the Human Biomonitoring and interpreting the results; recruitment of the study population, logistics, ethical issues, collaboration among disciplines, adequate dissemination of results and reporting to the relevant authorities etc. The Commission also recognises that the returns of Human Biomonitoring must be cost-efficient. Therefore, a step-by step procedure is proposed, working in close co-operation with the Member States at every stage.

2004-2007: The Commission will set up a multidisciplinary working group to develop a coordinated approach for Human Biomonitoring based on existing expertise and experiences. The working group will examine the range of objectives of Human Biomonitoring and identify those which are suitable for an EU approach. It will start from the experiences available in Member States' surveillance programmes and results from research. It will also benefit from knowledge generated in other fields, such as occupational health, which use biomarkers in their preventive activities. Synergies with other international activities, like those carried out by the WHO, the Healthy Environments for Children Alliance and the US National Children's Study will be pursued.

2004-2007: The Commission will identify how Human Biomonitoring results can be integrated most effectively with environmental monitoring data, and will develop strategies for communicating Human Biomonitoring results so as to allow for adequate response.

2006- : To test the approach developed, the Commission will launch a European Pilot Project in collaboration with the Member States. This project will develop the necessary tools for coordination, identify possible problems and facilitate the establishment of collaboration networks and the sharing of methodologies.