HBM4EU project published article supported by FCT

The European initiative in Human Biomonitoring(HBM4EU) published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, last 17 May, in online format, the article Application of human biomonitoring data to support policy development, raise awareness and environmental public health protection among countries within the HBM4EU project which counted with the collaboration of FCT and other partner institutions of this Joint European Programme of Horizon 2020.

The HBM4EU Programme, which involved 30 countries and ran from January 2017 to June 2022, constituted a multinational effort to deepen the knowledge about human exposure to chemical agents and the consequent impact on health, harmonise procedures and use the results obtained to evaluate existing measures and design new policies in this field. The project also allowed the creation or development, in the countries involved, of network structures made up of various stakeholders in this field, the so-called National Hubs. In Portugal, the FCT acted as the National Contact Point of this structure (NHCP - National Hub Contact Point).

Among the 30 HBM4EU member countries, 27 countries, including Portugal, contributed to this article by collecting national/regional/local Human Biomonitoring data, which are important for public awareness and to support policy decisions aimed at reducing human exposure to chemical agents.

The activities developed under the HBM4EU project and the National Hubs were an excellent basis for the development of the new Horizon Europe PARC Partnership (Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals), in which Portugal was able to increase its level of participation, with FCT having a seat on the Governing Board.