NEWS & MEDIA

A new website by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) sheds light on five cases of PFAS pollution affecting communities across Europe and provides resources for concerned citizens and health professionals to take action.

Health groups asked members of the EP ENVI committee to step up on clean air for health with science-based air quality standards. 

The EU Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published the draft proposal for an EU-wide restriction on the production and uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), starting a much needed process to restrict these 'forever chemicals'

Die Bundesärztekammer und die Gesundheitsverbände Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) und Deutsche Allianz Klimawandel und Gesundheit (KLUG) fordern dringende Maβnahmen, um die unterschätzte Krankheitslast durch Luftverschmutzung und insbesondere Feinstaub zu senken. Bei der aktuellen Überarbeitung der Luftqualitätsgrenzwerte auf EU-Ebene sollte sich die Bundesregierung für die vollständige Angleichung der Grenzwerte mit Empfehlungen der Weltgesundheitsorganisation bis 2030 einsetzen, damit Deutschland und die EU Vorreiter beim Gesundheitsschutz werden.

An unprecedented cross-country media investigation on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination around Europe - The Forever Pollution Project - reveals that more than 17,000 sites are contaminated by ‘forever chemicals’ around Europe.

The EU Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published the draft proposal for an EU-wide restriction on the production and uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), starting a much needed process to restrict these 'forever chemicals'

As the Polish government is about to launch its update on its 2040 Energy Strategy (PEP), part three of HEAL’s ‘Curing Chronic Coal’ series, published today, shows that the earlier Poland phases out coal power, the greater the health benefits and saved health costs to society will be.

Ahead of a debate on the role of farmers as enablers of the green transition and a resilient agricultural sector, HEAL urges members of the European Parliament to support the implementation of the Farm to Fork strategy and to adopt a strong health-protective Pesticides Regulation (SUR).

The Green 10 have sent a letter to Commissioner Breton, following a recent meeting of the group with him on boosting the green transition of the EU’s industry and upholding environmental and health safeguards - the letter focuses on the need to kickstart the revision of REACH, the EU chemicals regulatory framework, by June 2023, as well as Net Zero Industry and Critical Raw Materials Acts, where the Commission has to set clear conditions to respect climate, wider environmental, and social objectives.

Seventeen NGOs, including HEAL, wrote a joint letter to the European Commission on nanomaterials in everyday products; results from recent testing and concrete measures to inform and protect citizens and ecosystems from nano-related risks

The European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety is currently considering the proposal to revise the EU’s ambient air quality directives (AAQD), a cornerstone for the protection of people’s health and the environment from air pollution. Today, HEAL, together with six more health organisations, has written to members of the committee, urging them tostep up on the European Commission’s proposal, to reduce ill-health and health cost swiftly and significantly.

HEAL and others have written to German chancellor Scholz and vice-chancellor Habeck with concern regarding the recent political backpedalling and confusion created by the German government that has led to the postponement of the Council vote on the new CO2 standards for cars and vans. The NGOs have called on them to stand firm and confirm the support of your government for the existing agreement without further delay.

ClientEarth, CAN Europe, CEE Bankwatch, E3G and HEAL have sent a joint letter to Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager concerning the leaked draft Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (“TCTF”) and our concerns by the direction taken.

Alors qu’une consultation publique visant à restreindre l’usage des « polluants éternels » a été lancée le 22 mars, des mutuelles et des organisations spécialisées en santé environnementale rappellent, dans une tribune au « Le Monde », l’urgence d’une actualisation ambitieuse du règlement européen sur les substances chimiques.

The increasing reliance on lithium compounds in critical sectors should be reason enough for European authorities to support a thorough investigation of their properties. They also demand a speedy agreement on how to communicate about them to workers and end-users. But instead, a scientifically-backed proposal to classify three lithium salts for their toxicity to reproduction under Europe’s harmonised hazard identification system is at a dead end.

Health groups call on the leaders of the Western Balkan countries to harmonize national air quality standards with the World Health Organization Global air quality guidelines. Health experts should be actively involved in these decision-making processes to ensure the timely integration of public health measures into environmental policies. Compliance with WHO recommendations brings multiple benefits – reduced incidence of chronic diseases and premature deaths, reduced overall health costs and, most importantly, better health and higher productivity of people.

By using the example of the ongoing assessments of five substances that have long been suspected to disrupt our thyroid function, HEAL's Natacha Cingotti and Angeliki Lyssimachou illustrate the extremely slow pace of and the related weakness in the implementation of Europe’s promises to protect people, animals and wildlife from effects associated to exposure to endocrine disruptors.

Therefore, the Belchatow closure announcement is a milestone for better health protection for the people in Poland and beyond, and shows that there is a growing recognition that coal cannot have a place in a healthy energy future for Poland, or elsewhere. At the same time, there’s no reason for leaning back, as  we have not reached our goal of a coal phase out in the EU by 2030 yet - a date that is scientifically proven to be needed to slow down the climate crisis.