IHEN: Building a network of scientists exploring environmental impacts on our health

The International Human Exposome Network (IHEN) is bringing together researchers, policymakers, and independent experts to collaborate on and improve exposome research. This field explores how health is shaped by the combined impact of all the environmental factors people are exposed to throughout their lives.

A roadmap for studying environmental exposures

In the past decade, more and more researchers have been taking a holistic approach when studying how environmental factors contribute to health and disease development. By building a worldwide network, the EU-funded IHEN project will develop a roadmap for future exposome research, provide tools and training opportunities and increase the impact of future studies in this field.

“Now is a critical moment to enhance global coordination, support, and implementation of exposome research”, says Roel Vermeulen Professor at Utrecht University and IHEN project Co-coordinator. “Given the vast and borderless nature of our environmental challenges, both present and future, it is imperative that we collaborate internationally to make a meaningful impact on public health.”

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Air quality must improve quickly to protect citizens

On Wednesday, September 20, 2023, the British newspaper The Guardian published a study on air quality in Europe. Using visualizations based on models from the research team of Professor Roel Vermeulen, the newspaper shows that virtually everyone in Europe is breathing unhealthy air.

Significant impact on health

“We’ve known for a while that the air quality is not sufficient,” says Vermeulen. “It’s a harsh reality that, according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), the air in Europe doesn’t meet the standards anywhere.” The European Environment Agency (EEA) has calculated that nearly 240,000 people died prematurely due to poor air quality in 2020.

Eastern Europe and Northern Italy are the worst affected. “This is mainly due to outdated industry, such as the burning of coal in old power plants,” explains Vermeulen. He sees that significant investments are needed to make the industry cleaner and to reduce emissions from road traffic, agriculture, and livestock farming.

New guidelines

The European Union aims to amend regulations regarding air quality. By 2035, all countries must comply with WHO guidelines. The European Parliament has already approved this. “Good news,” says Vermeulen. “But it’s also very bitter that it has taken so long. Meanwhile, the health damage continues.” The EU Council still needs to approve the proposal. Vermeulen hopes that nothing will change, and it will be implemented quickly.

The Netherlands has an average of about 10 micrograms per cubic meter of fine particulate matter in the air. This is twice as high as the new WHO guideline prescribes. Vermeulen points out that a faster transition is needed, especially in road traffic. “This means using different cars and carefully considering the number of kilometers vehicles with combustion engines drive. Perhaps people should work from home more, make greater use of public transportation, or make city centers car-free.”

Are you curious about the air quality in your area? The research team has also created an interactive map in collaboration with The Guardian.

Interactive map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Around 140 attendees from the nine EHEN projects gathered to talk and exchange on everything exposome. Held in Leuven, Belgium and online from 30th May to 1st June, the  focus of the first two days was to share the progress and results of the projects’ research with members of the network.

The event was organised by the EXIMIOUS and LongITools project coordination teams, the current EHEN leads,  and hosted at KU Leuven. It featured 62 presentations on all aspects of EHEN’s research, spanning an extraordinary range of topics. Notable themes included early life exposures, health effects of air and noise pollution, and projects focusing on urban design. Research techniques presented included statistical methods, metagenomic analysis, cell profiling, biomarkers, and Artificial Intelligence.  Details of each project and links to their latest publications can be found on the EHEN website.

Day two wrapped up with an exhibition featuring posters, tools and product demonstrations from all nine projects. Some of the projects’ research tools and guidelines are already publicly available on the EHEN website via its Exposome Toolbox.

Exposome Research: Understanding and Addressing Policy Challenges

On day three, EHEN’s Communication, Dissemination and Policy Working Group invited environmental and health policy specialists to an open event with EHEN researchers. With a focus on exposome research-policy exchange, we took the opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of collaborative research and the power of addressing key challenges from different perspectives.

EHEN’s Peter Hoet, EXIMIOUS Coordinator, opened the session with an explanation of the exposome and the complex nature of the research being undertaken. Rita Araujo from the European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) presented the EC’s goals and expectations around exposome research, and Lorena Korosec, from the EC Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV), presented on the European Green Deal Zero Pollution Action Plan. Sinaia Netanyahu from the World Health Organisation provided an overview of the global challenges around health policy.

The speakers outlined the policy priorities of relevance to exposome research and highlighted several areas where they believe EHEN could contribute to policy development, such as air, water and soil pollution, and transport noise. They spoke of the continuing need for high-quality evidence and modelling tools to define and predict the health impacts of environmental exposures.

From EHEN, LongITools Coordinator Sylvain Sebert highlighted areas where scientific research could inform policy making, including ethical frameworks, health economics, and urban planning.

In the workshop and discussions that followed the presentations, both policymakers and researchers spoke of the challenges of translating the findings of scientific publications into insights that could be used for policy development, citing the need to find a “common language”. Policymakers stressed that the research impact and the scope of its effect should be clearly identified and communicated. This would have a direct influence on policymakers’ decisions and facilitate securing resources and funding.

EHEN researchers also raised concerns about chemicals that are currently unregulated by existing frameworks, in particular REACH, and spoke of the need to engage with policymakers on the health risks linked to exposures within the workplace.

The event was a step forward in engaging with policymakers, at a point where results and publications from EHEN projects are gathering momentum. The key take-aways for EHEN are:

Continue to talk to one another and try to find opportunities for regular interaction and knowledge exchange.

– Respond promptly to requests for information from policymakers.
– Share the key results and messages concisely, in language understood by non-technical experts, using clear terminology and without jargon.
– Relate key messages to existing policies and initiatives and/or policy needs.
– Regularly present results collectively, where possible, to ensure a more holistic view.

Sylvain Sebert says:

As the largest cluster of EU research projects focused on the environment and health, we can ensure our individual research is not just a ‘drop in the ocean’ for policymakers. EHEN’s collective evidence can effectively inform policies and initiatives which drive change to ensure a healthy exposome becomes the norm.”

A recording of the stakeholder event is available below.

2023 European Human Exposome Network (EHEN) event

Exposome Research: Understanding and Addressing Policy Challenges

1 June 2023 | 09:00 – 12:00 CEST
Leuven / Online

Join us for the 2023 European Human Exposome Network (EHEN) event “Exposome Research: Understanding and Addressing Policy Challenges” on the 1st of June 2023 at 09:00-12:00 CEST.

As part of the annual meeting, this year EHEN is hosting an open event to facilitate the two-way exchange between policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders with an interest in the health effects of environmental exposures. This event includes presentations from European policymakers and EHEN researchers on topics such as tackling health at a global level, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, and occupational health and safety. Attendees will have the opportunity to listen to, question, and network with other policymakers and multi-disciplinary researchers.

Register by 26th  ofMay 2023 to join us in person in Leuven (Belgium) or online!

Google donated two Project Air View cars to Utrecht University a year ago. With these ‘Air View’ cars, the quality of air in cities can be mapped down to street level. Jules Kerckhoffs of Utrecht University coordinates these projects and is responsible for processing the data. He talks about his experiences.

“As Junior Assistant Professor, I work with a team from the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS) at Utrecht University on mapping and predicting air pollution. Using the Air View cars we have an innovative tool to measure pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, soot and ultrafine dust whilst driving. We started in Copenhagen and Amsterdam, have now also driven in Basel and Barcelona and will soon go to Munich and Augsburg.

Detailed air quality maps for an entire city

This method of mobile data monitoring on a large scale is quite innovative. Because we drive eight hours a day for a longer period and take measurements every second, we collect an immense amount of data that can be used to produce detailed air quality maps. The measuring equipment is of laboratory quality and the monitor for ultrafine dust is particularly expensive, and so bulky that removing the back seats of the cars was necessary. As you can’t put them on every street corner, cities have between three to ten measuring stations of the same quality.

“You can’t simply scroll through an excel file with millions of data points to see if there are any mistakes.”

What cities do with our results depends on their own objectives. In the projects I work with various partners to find useful applications. There is of course a substantial interest from area developers, but municipal health centres, private companies and scientists also work with the maps we produce. For example, an app based on our data can be used to provide advice on healthy walking and cycling routes. In Copenhagen they decided to plant hedges in locations with poor air quality to serve as buffers between the street and the pavement. Scientists use our data to study the link between air quality and, for example, mortality. Residents can also consult public maps to find the best route between home and work.

Millions of data points per day

My specialty is mainly data technology. This ranges from data collection and determining varied driving routes, to storing, filtering, analyzing and processing data. With a data set of millions of data points per day, this is not an easy task. You cannot simply scroll through an Excel file to see if it contains any errors.

Expanding into Europe and beyond

What I like about this work is that I can deliver something tangible very quickly. Carrying out epidemiological research isn’t necessary to say something about healthy urban living; this doesn’t mean to say you shouldn’t do that research.  These methods complement one another. It is the same with mobile monitoring as opposed to stationary monitoring. With the former method a large area can be covered. My ultimate goal is to use mobile monitoring to develop a European map, particularly for ultrafine dust. For this we need to measure in yet more European cities. Looking at the growing interest in Project Air View I expect that this will be feasible. In any case, my scripts and the cars are ready for it!”

Would you like to learn more about Project Air View? Take a look at the air quality map developed for Copenhagen and Amsterdam by Jules or read the first scientific paper, which was recently published online.