HBM4EU results support the Chemicals' Strategy for Sustainability and the Zero-Pollution Action Plan.

One of the major goals of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) was to bridge the gap between science and policy by consulting both policy makers and national scientists and generating evidence of the actual exposure of residents to chemicals and whether that exposure would be suggest a potential health risk. Residents' perspectives on chemical exposure and risk were also investigated. HBM4EU's research was designed to answer specific short-term and long-term policy questions at national and European levels, and for its results to directly support regulatory action on chemicals. A strategy was established to prioritise chemicals for analysis in human matrices, with a total of 18 substances/substance groups chosen to be investigated throughout the five-and a -half-year project. HBM4EU produced new evidence of human exposure levels, developed reference values for exposure, investigated determinants of exposure and derived health-based guidance values for those substances. In addition, HBM4EU promoted the use of human biomonitoring data in chemical risk assessment and developed innovative tools and methods linking chemicals to possible health impacts, such as effect biomarkers. Furthermore, HBM4EU advanced understand of effects from combined exposures and methods to identify emerging chemicals. With the aim of supporting policy implementation, science-to-policy workshops were organised, providing opportunities for joint reflection and dialogue on research results. I, and indicators were developed to assess temporal and spatial patterns in the exposure of European population. A sustainable human biomonitoring monitoring framework, producing comparable quality assured data would allow: the evaluation of time trends; the exploration of spatial trends: the evaluation of the influence of socio-economic conditions on chemical exposure. Therefore, such a framework should be included in the European Chemicals' Strategy for Sustainability and the data would support the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

Comprehensive environmental review following the pork PCB/dioxin contamination incident in Ireland.

In December 2008 the Irish Government made a decision to recall all Irish pork and bacon products from pigs slaughtered in Ireland since September 1 2008 as a result of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination identified during routine monitoring of Irish pork products. 30000 tonnes of returned product were subsequently destroyed, as well as 170000 pigs and 5700 cattle, with a cost to date to the Irish exchequer in excess of €120 million, as well as reputational damage to the Irish agriculture and food industries. The source of the contamination was traced to an animal feed production facility which was using the hot gases from the combustion of contaminated fuel oil to dry animal feed. This review examines the events which led to the contamination of the feed, the associated environmental monitoring investigations that followed, and also the lessons learned from this incident.