The new National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) started operations on 1 January 2009, following the merger of the National Public Health Institute (KTL) and the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES).

THL (Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos, National Institute for Health and Welfare) (prof. Terttu Vartiainen, Docent Jouni Tuomisto, M.D., Dr. Med. Sci, Päivi Meriläinen Ph.D, Prof. Juha Pekkanen, M.D., Dr. Med. Sci., Ilkka Miettinen, Ph.D) is a governmental research institute in Finland, and its aim is to promote people’s possibilities to live healthy life (www.thl.fi). THL’s main areas are infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and environmental health. They have extensive experience and expertise in the research areas of exposure assessment of environmental factors (water pollutants, including DBPs and microbes, chemicals, air pollutants, indoor air), water research, toxicology, environmental epidemiology and health risk assessment related to those environmental factors.

The laboratory can analyse a range of DBPs in drinking water, including MX. A crucial feature in the culture of the department is interdisciplinary approach to research topics. Examples of major research areas have been chlorination by-products of drinking water, dioxins and PCBs in the environment and food, and their toxicology and health effects, fine particulate matter of urban air, and indoor mould problems. During the last years the most important area of development
has been risk analysis, and the Academy of Finland granted the Department the "Centre of Excellence in Environmental Health Risk Analysis" for the years 2002 to 2007. They have been involved in several EU-projects (e.g. Safer, WeKnow, EDEN, EXPORED, DAPAFF). They will lead the research area on risk benefit analysis and policy, lead WP 8 and
contribute to many other WPs.