Potential impact
A concerted European research effort has so far been lacking in the area of disinfection by-products in water, resulting in a widening gap of knowledge compared to North America and Japan.
A larger number of people including scientists, policy makers, industry and consumer representatives will meet at the end of the project to produce European guidelines and recommendations and set a research agenda for further work.
Disinfection is used in many countries in Europe and is therefore of European concern. European Water Policy has undergone a thorough restructuring process. The 1998 Directive on quality of drinking water is intended to protect human health by laying down purity requirements which must be met by drinking water within the Community. Water Framework Directive 2000 sets the objectives for water protection for the future. The project makes use of differences in disinfection practices and related disinfection by-product levels and mixtures.
Innovative aspects of the work include detailed exposure assessment methods in many of the studies taking into account not only the measurement of water levels of many by-products but also water related activities/pathways such as ingestion, showering, bathing and swimming and routes (oral, skin absorption and inhalation) producing integrated exposure indices. The work will provide new risk estimates for various health outcomes in Europe.
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Sponsored by the European Commission