Environment and health information

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• Environment and health information
• Content
• Scott Brackett

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What would the information system look like in
practice?
Databases of concentrations of stressors in
exposure media combined to yield EXPOSURE
Objective Assessment of health impacts of exposure
Policy formulation
Databases of HEALTH IMPACTS
Dose-response relations from research
Need to ensure validation of dose-response
relations used
Source apportionment of exposure
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Environ-mental stressor Limit values set in exposure media? Ambient air Indoor air Water Food 2. Exposure assessment possible using monitoring of compliance with limit values? 3. Health impact assessment possible? 4. Source apportionment of exposure possible?
Chemical stressors Limit values set in exposure media? Ambient air Indoor air Water Food 2. Exposure assessment possible using monitoring of compliance with limit values? 3. Health impact assessment possible? 4. Source apportionment of exposure possible?
Deliberate releases Limit values set in exposure media? Ambient air Indoor air Water Food 2. Exposure assessment possible using monitoring of compliance with limit values? 3. Health impact assessment possible? 4. Source apportionment of exposure possible?
Non-deliberate releases (contaminants) Ambient air pollutants (PM, NOx, ozone, others) Limit values set in exposure media? Ambient air Indoor air Water Food 2. Exposure assessment possible using monitoring of compliance with limit values? 3. Health impact assessment possible? 4. Source apportionment of exposure possible?
Phyiscal stressors Limit values set in exposure media? Ambient air Indoor air Water Food 2. Exposure assessment possible using monitoring of compliance with limit values? 3. Health impact assessment possible? 4. Source apportionment of exposure possible?
Biological stressors Limit values set in exposure media? Ambient air Indoor air Water Food 2. Exposure assessment possible using monitoring of compliance with limit values? 3. Health impact assessment possible? 4. Source apportionment of exposure possible?
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Answers to questions for air quality

• 1. Are limit values set in the exposure medium?
• For ambient air, Yes, in ambient air quality
  legislation.
• How are they set?
• On basis of toxicological studies (extrapolation
  from other species)
• On basis of information on occupational exposure
  (extrapolation from high exposures to low
  exposure)
• On basis of epidemiological studies, based on
  measurement of actual environmental
  concentrations.

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• 2. Can an exposure assesment be done on the
  basis of compliance monitoring with limit values?
• Can potentially calculate distribution of
  concentrations of pollutants across Europe
• Can combine with population distribution to
  obtain population distribution of concentration
• Problem is that concentration is used as a proxy
  for exposure.

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• 2a. How can exposure assessment be improved?
• Options
• Direct monitoring of exposure by dosimetry. This
  is unlikely to be cost-effective across Europe.
• Modelling of exposure by combining population
  distribution of concentration with activity
  patterns.
• Develop models
• Validate using actual exposure assessment in some
  key areas.

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• 2b. Implementation task for EH Information
  System
• Develop model integrating concentration
  distribution with activity data
• Validate
• Assess costs of implementation on European scale
• Compare with benefits for policy development
• Conclusion
• Implementation is/is not cost-effective in terms
  of improved policy-relevant information
• Action
• Implement/do not implement on European scale

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• 3. Can the exposure assessment be translated
  into a health impact assessment?
• Yes, to a certain extent.
• Population distribution of concentration is
  combined with concentration-effect relations to
  give attributable fraction of health outcome
  (e.g. respiratory mortality) due to ambient air
  pollution
• Attributable fraction multiplied by baseline
  health monitoring data to give actual health
  impact.
• Problems
• Concentration-effect relations used because
  concentration is proxy for exposure.
• Health monitoring data always available at the
  right geographic scale?

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• 3a. How can assessment of health impacts be
  improved?
• Develop exposure-effect relations that can be
  used with the revised models for calculating
  exposure (to replace concentration-effect
  relations)
• Will deliver better assessment of attributable
  fraction of health outcome
• Identify the geographic resolution of health
  monitoring data required to perform a health
  impact assessment on the basis of the
  attributable fraction.

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• 3b Implementation Task for EH Information System
• Pilot and validate the health impact assessment
  methodology, including the costs of making health
  data available on the right geographical scale
• Assess costs of implementation across Europe
• Compare with benefits for policy development
• Conclusion
• Implementation is/is not cost-effective in terms
  of improved policy-relevant information
• Action
• Implement/do not implement on European scale

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4. Is source apportionment of exposure possible?

• Source apportionment essential for guiding
  interventions
• Need models capable of assessing the effects on
  exposure, and hence on health impacts, of range
  of management options for the various sources
• Implementation task for the EH Information
  System
• Develop and validate model for
• source apportionment of the new calculation of
  exposure (as developed under implementation task
  2b)
• Assessment of the impact of interventions on
  exposure, and hence on health

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Result of implementation

• Improved EU-wide information on
• exposure to ambient air pollution
• the health impacts of that exposure
• and the effects of potential management options
• Providing support for the development of the next
  generation of ambient air policy.

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Possible funding options being explored

• Priority Research Infrastructures under FP7
• LIFE
• Public Health Programme
• Operational budgets of the relevant DGs

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Implementation programmeContributing activities

• DG SANCO ENHIS project and its follow-ups
• DG RTD FP6, Thematic priorities on Health,
  Environment and Food Quality and Safety
• DG ENV support contract for developing an
  implementation plan for the Information System
• DG JRC project for identifying existing
  information sources, assessing the feasibility
  for using them to provide the necessary
  information, and identifying research needs.
• Programme setting out which activity will do
  what.

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Timing

• Detailed timetable and allocation of tasks for
  developing Implementation Programme June 2005
• Draft implementation programme October 2005
• Finalised implementation programme for
  Information System January 2006