Periodic Reporting for period 5 - HBM4EU (European Human Biomonitoring Initiative) Période du rapport: 2021-01-01 au 2022-06-30 Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) with 30 countries, 116 partners and the European Environment Agency, was co-funded by the European Commission under Horizon 2020.HBM4EU’s vision was to build up an innovative framework for Human Biomonitoring (HBM) across Europe at the science policy interface, build on national capabilities and expertise, to answer policy questions on chemical safety based on evidence from HBM data, responding to the needs of EU and national authorities in the field of chemicals, environment and health, thereby improving chemical risk assessment in Europe. Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent HBM4EU developed strategies, guideline documents, HBM harmonisation methods across the EU, and a full analytical QA/QC programme to improve comparability of HBM data and their use for policy. A European network of HBM analytical laboratories now exists for chemical analysis qualified/expert laboratories, analytical method development and support/implementation of QA schemes for HBM4EU prioritised substances.The HBM4EU Aligned Studies generated new comparable HBM data for Europe, informed on current internal exposure of the general population to selected priority substances and on effect biomarkers in over 10,000 citizens, e.g. exposure biomarkers of phthalates, DINCH, flame retardants, pesticides, acrylamide, PFAS, arsenic species, UV-filters, cadmium, bisphenols, PAHs and mycotoxins. Harmonised occupational studies were done on exposure to i.a. chromium (VI), other harmful chemicals, to diisocyanates and in E-waste handling. A targeted Intervention Study on Mercury was done to evaluate impacts of dietary advice for pregnant women in countries with a diet high in fresh water/marine products and high mercury levels, showing the successful collaboration between HBM experts and health providers for health promotion. Through feasibility studies HBM4EU also demonstrated the utility and drawbacks of combining HBM and health surveys.HBM metadata and summary statistics are available through the HBM module of IPCHEM, contributing to the use of HBM data in policy processes. A new interactive European HBM Dashboard allows visualisation of HBM data collections & summary statistics from HBM4EU, e.g. exposure levels, temporal/spatial trends in chemical exposure of citizens and exposure distributions (e.g. for sex, region, age group and educational level).To interpret HBM data in a health risk context, HBM Guidance Values (HBM-GVs) for general and occupationally exposed population were derived. HBM based indicators were developed to enable the use of HBM data for assessing time/spatial trends in internal exposure of citizens and to get an overview of the population at risk.Values of key toxicokinetic parameters and specific chemical-biological interactions to link external to internal exposure and improve exposure models for risk assessment were identified. A HBM4EU exposure database was built to provide necessary data for exposure models for reconstructing exposure from HBM data and to estimate internal doses for prioritised chemicals. Biomarkers of exposure were complemented with biomarkers of effect as a proof of concept to increase the weight of evidence of exposure-health outcome associations in human studies. New methodologies based on artificial intelligence and systems toxicology were developed to link several priority substances to molecular initiating and key events in Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs). Existing data was analysed together with novel measurements, in line with health endpoints and prioritised effect biomarkers, to advance knowledge on exposure-health relationships, specifically concerning PFAS. To identify chemicals of emerging concern, we developed the first proofs-of-concept illustrating 1) capabilities of suspect screening to capture simultaneously a range of exposure markers in human samples, 2) capabilities of non-targeted screening of halogenated markers of exposure to reveal new markers in human samples that are likely to be new emerging compounds, 3) elaboration of a never yet achieved aggregated and QA/QC consolidated EU database (CECScreen) inventorying >300.000 exposure markers related to chemicals of emerging concern, and 4) creation of an MS/MS spectral reference library to increase the confidence level in the identity of the detected exposure markers.To identify health risks of chemical mixtures a diverse set of case studies and a decision tree for addressing mixture effects were developed. For combined exposure to multiple chemicals, we showed how network analysis of existing HBM data can be used to identify real-life mixtures, i.e. clusters of co-occurring chemicals. Network analysis of existing HBM datasets from 4 different countries across Europe, showed that combined exposures to multiple chemicals are common and occur in all population groups. In the SPECIMEn study on pesticides, harmonised suspect screening analyses was done on urine samples, resulting in the identification of 95 pesticide-related markers, related to 30 parent compounds, e.g. acetamiprid, chlorpropham, boscalid, and clothianidin.A strategy and communication lines for feeding results into policy processes and main messages to targeted audiences were developed. Substance specific policy briefs and reports highlight the HBM4EU results and answers to policy questions and main messages for policy makers. The 3rd list of prioritised substances was identified and a survey launched to identify policy needs/activities for chemical risk assessment – for continuation in the Partnership for the Assessments of Risk from Chemicals (PARC).A vision for a sustainable HBM programme in Europe, based on input from National Hubs (NH), EU agencies, EC Directorate Generals and experience of HBM4EU and a concept anchored in the EU’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, were created. Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent) A network of 30 NH, providing national expertise to build the international pan-European HBM platform and strengthening national capacities using international networking, was created.Analytical capacity and comparable HBM data at EU level were generated. Chemical safety research on e.g. chemical mixtures, chemicals of emerging concern, linkage between exposure and effects indicating health risks, was strengthened. Results obtained and the innovative methods and tools developed are highly relevant to policy makers.The unique alignment of national HBM studies is a major achievement, which led to a broad availability of harmonised HBM data at EU level, feeding directly into policy development and evaluation.New HBM exposure data increases the understanding of how EU citizens are exposed to chemicals. HBM-GV’s will promote HBM application to setting safe human exposure values for risk management decisions.The European exposure distributions values and HBM data made available in IPCHEM will greatly contribute to exposure evaluation and risk assessment.The HBM4EU Data Policy and strategy for data sharing, the European HBM dashboard and computational tools for the interpretation of HBM data, translated into external exposure estimates, to be used for chemical risk assessment, will be of great use in the future.Key elements of HBM4EU’s legacy are the structured process for prioritisation of chemical substances and research activities, widely accepted by the scientific community, policy makers and stakeholders, and the network of laboratories engaged in the QA/QC Control Scheme. Documents connexes 16128_HBM4E_website_photo_homepage-03.jpg
