PARC Consortium and Human Biomonitoring

Human biomonitoring to support risk assessment and chemical policies in Europe: results from HBM4EU 

Presented by Greta Schoeters, PhD

Human biomonitoring (HBM) measures chemicals or their metabolites directly in human tissues or fluids and hence aggregates chemical exposure from different sources and intake routes. As such it fits with the one chemical- one assessment concept which is part of Europe’s strategy for sustainable use of chemicals. Human biomonitoring provides a picture of reallife exposure to chemicals which is essential information for hazard characterisation and chemical risk assessment. A coherent human biomonitoring framework is still lacking in Europe. However, it is needed to track the progress towards EU’s Zero Pollution Action which aims to reduce pollution levels to be no more harmful for health by 2050. The European project HBM4EU (2017-2022) operated at the science policy interface and has established a European Union-wide HBM programme to generate knowledge on human internal exposure to chemical pollutants and their potential health impacts in Europe.  Priority substance groups were identified to meet the most important needs of both European and national policy makers and risk assessors.  Building on existing capacities, HBM4EU brought together scientists from 30 countries. As one of the core activities, harmonized human biomonitoring data from different European regions and age groups were collected. The HBM4EU Aligned Studies generated new HBM data of 10,795 participants. HBM4EU has set up a laboratory network to produce comparable high quality analytical data, provided wide access to data and facilitated interpretation of results by developing indicators and human biomonitoring guidance values.   

Results displayed the heterogeneity of internal chemical exposure of European residents: geographically, according to the age group, according to the sampling period, according to the educational level of study participants. The levels of some substances in the human body of the European population are still so high that adverse health effects cannot be excluded according to current knowledge. 

HBM4EU produced data that can serve as a baseline to evaluate the success of the measures taken to operationalise the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Zero Pollution Agenda in the frame of the European Green Deal, it signaled upcoming substances that are present in the body. HBM4EU demonstrated that not only regulations but clear strategies are needed to prevent further pollution on the human body.