Verifiable emission reductions in European urban areas with air-quality models.

The first and second AutoOil programmes were conducted since 1992 as a partnership between the European Commission and the automobile and oil industries. These have introduced emission reductions in Europe based on numerical modelling for a target year. They aimed to identify the most cost-effective way to meet desired future air quality over the whole European Union. In their time, these regulatory efforts were considered an important step towards a new approach for establishing European emission limits. With this work, we review the effectiveness of forecasts carried out with numerical modelling and compare these with the actual measurements at the target year, which was the year 2010. Based on these comparisons and new technological innovations these methodologies can incorporate new sectorial assessments for improving the accuracy of the modelling forecasts and for examining the representativeness of emissions reductions, as well as for the simultaneous assessment of population exposure to cocktails of toxic substances under realistic climatological conditions. We also examined at the ten AutoOil domains the geographical generalisation of the forecasts for CO and NO2 at 1065 European urban areas on the basis of their population and the local population density.

Nanotechnological medical devices and nanopharmaceuticals: the European regulatory framework and research needs.

The European regulatory framework is examined in relation to nanotechnology based medical devices and medicinal products. Medical applications of nanotechnology will have to comply with the requirement for a high level of public health, safety, consumer, and environmental protection. An evaluation of the possible health or environmental risks of nanoparticles must therefore be carried out and it is important to ensure that particle size and chemistry are taken into account when investigating possible adverse effects. Further research is needed on the toxicological and ecotoxicological properties of nanoparticles, their uptake in the body, accumulation in tissues and organs, transport characteristics, exposure and dose-response data, and their distribution and persistence in the environment. The existing regulations appear adequate to manage the risks of nanotechnology at its current stage of development but continuous review of the regulatory regime will be needed to determine whether it is sufficient to protect human health and the environment. Modification of the legislation may prove necessary as new scientific evidence emerges regarding the effects of nanoparticles on living organisms and in the ecosystems.