Project description
Revealing the true cost of microplastic and nanoplastic pollution
Microplastic and nanoplastic pollution (MNP) is becoming an ever-present concern amongst environmental issues that need to be addressed. However, little is known regarding how these plastics affect health, especially during early life and development. The EU-funded AURORA project aims to develop a framework for MNP risk assessment to evaluate its impact during pregnancy and early life. It will achieve this through in-depth testing and epidemiological data to reveal how MNP exposure can affect child development and health. The ultimate goal is to provide a comprehensive way to evaluate the true impact of MNP while informing European policy and improving quality of life.
Objective
The scale of micro- and nanoplastic (MNP) pollution is becoming increasingly clear yet little is known about how this pollution impacts health. The AURORA project will deliver an actionable European roadmap for early-life health risk assessment of MNPs to support regulation of MNPs and the products and processes that generate secondary MNPs, and development of safer alternatives. We will focus on MNP exposures and toxicological and health effects during pregnancy, in utero, and in early life. These periods are critical for development and health later in life and are of heightened vulnerability to environmental insults. We have recently shown that MNPs are likely to cross the placental barrier in vitro and in vivo, underlying the urgent need to understand the impact of MNPs on reproductive and early-life health. AURORA will do so by significantly enhancing exposure assessment capabilities for measuring MNPs and MNP-associated chemicals (e.g. additives) in tissues relevant for early-life development (placenta, cord blood, amniotic fluid, meconium, fetal tissue). It will take a unique approach by combining in-depth characterization methods (microscopy and spectroscopy) and scalable methods (mass-spectrometry) to develop methods for both detailed and large-scale toxicological, exposure assessment, and epidemiological studies. This will be combined with a novel tiered-testing approach and epidemiological investigations to provide the first extensive evaluation of maternal and fetal MNP exposures and health perturbations, including placental function, immune-inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, accelerated aging, endocrine disruption, and child development. In the course of developing and applying the tools and methodological workflows of the AURORA research program, we will create a risk assessment framework specific to MNPs and identify the remaining knowledge gaps and priorities needed for comprehensively evaluating the impact of MNPs on early-life health. AURORA is part of the European MNP cluster on human health.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine obstetrics
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.3.1. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Health, demographic change and well-being
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3.1.1. - Understanding health, wellbeing and disease
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
RIA - Research and Innovation action
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-SC1-BHC-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
3584 CX Utrecht
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.