Mission and outcomes

It is important to provide a guidance on the research approach to be adopted in different situations.

COST Action IS1408 will clarify needs and priorities, support collection of available information, methods and data, promote shared initiatives and develop guidance and resources on risk assessment, management and communication across Europe.
It will allow a comparative reading and interpretation of existing data on health of citizens who live in contaminated sites, create the conditions for the undertaking of comparable health impact assessments of contaminated sites in Europe and beyond.

Expected outcomes include:

1. guidelines, evidence-based reviews, compilation of case studies on:
   (a) strategies for studying environment and health in contaminated sites, focusing on methodology; and
   (b) strategies for risk management and communication;
2. resources, materials and training modules on:
   (a) approaches and methods to be applied in different sites and contexts; and
   (b) risk management and communication strategies;
3. expert consensus on methodology for exposure assessment;
4. expert consensus on methodology for health assessments that allows:
   (a) the separate analysis of population subgroups (in particular, children), and
   (b) consideration of social gradients, confounding and interactions with socioeconomic factors and social health determinants;
5. plans of a system, criteria, requirements to collect and compile data and produce comparative analyses of the health impact of different sources of contamination within and among different European countries, allowing for the inclusion of socioeconomic factors.