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News 5/23
 28 February 2023
The Forever Pollution ProjectOn 24 February 2023, the Forever Pollution Project by an investigative journalist consortium has published a map showing more than 17,000 sites contaminated by the “forever chemicals” PFAS all over Europe. An exclusive, monthslong investigation from 18 European newsrooms reveals an additional 22,000 presumptive contamination sites due to current or past industrial activity. Consideration of pathways for immunotoxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)Taken together, there is substantial evidence from both in vitro and in vivo experimental as well as epidemiological studies, supporting that various PFAS, not only PFOA and PFOS, affect multiple aspects of the immune system. Timing of exposure is critical, because the developing immune system is especially vulnerable to toxic insults, resulting in a higher risk of particularly adverse immune effects but also other organs later in life. New Microplastics GuidanceInterstate Technology and Regulatory Council ITRC's Microplastics Team has synthesized the available information on MP into a single comprehensive guidance document, covering everything from ecological effects and mitigation and abatement strategies to environmental distribution! Soil Health Dashboard of the EU Soil ObservatoryWith the EUSO Soil Health Dashboard, the JRC provides a spatial assessment of where unhealthy soils may be located in the EU – and which degradation processes affect them using a convergence of evidence methodology, which spatially combines datasets to highlight the intensity and location of 15 soil degradation processes. The resulting map indicates areas that are likely to be affected by soil degradation as well as the types of soil degradation with the loss of soil organic carbon (48%), the loss of soil biodiversity (37.5%), and soil erosion by water (32%) being the most prevalent types. The EUSO Soil Health Dashboard will evolve as new scientific data become available (e.g. Horizon Europe’s Soil Mission projects) and with the implementation of EU and national soil policies, in particular the forthcoming EU Soil Health Law. European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) - NewsletterESDAC Newsletter No.150 (February 2023) - EUGRIS NewsNew documents on EUGRIS, the platform for European contaminated soil and water information: |