International strategies in children's environmental health.

In recent years the fact that children need to be protected against environmental stressors has been widely accepted by decision- and policy-makers. However, there is not yet a good or unified strategy to improve children's health by improving their environment. The Policy Interpretation Network on Children's Health and Environment (PINCHE) network suggested a range of recommendations to support the development of a strategy on children's environmental health on different levels of authority: international, national, regional, and local. There clearly are indicated bottlenecks in the thematic network approach. Three main challenges for success have been identified; first is data comparability. PINCHE identified the need for standardisation of environmental assessments, classification of childhood respiratory diseases and symptoms, and a format for defining diagnostic groups and presentation of data. Second, data accessibility must be addressed. Accessibility of the scientific data to the general public, including health professionals and policy makers, is important and requires translation that is often lacking. Third there is a requirement to harmonise definitions and methods to ensure that scientists and authorities speak the same language. Obstacles are the subsidiarity principle, fragmentation of available knowledge or lack of expertise and purpose at various levels, the lack of political commitment or input and economic issues.

[No increased urinary arsenic levels in children living on naturally arsenic-rich soil]. / Geen verhoogde arsenicumconcentratie in urine bij kinderen woonachtig op van nature arsenicumrijke grond.

In order to assess the health effect of environmental exposure to arsenic, the urinary arsenic concentrations were determined in 25 children aged 2-5 yr in the De Huet quarter in Doetinchem, an area with an increased amount of naturally occurring arsenic in the upper soil, and in 25 children from the other quarters of Doetinchem. With a questionnaire information was obtained regarding playing outdoors and eating fish (also a source of arsenic intake). There were no statistically significant differences in urinary arsenic concentrations between the subgroups of children.

Odour annoyance in a residential area near a papermill.

UNLABELLED: A papermill in a small town has for many years caused a lot of odour annoyance. Odour exposures were determined by odour emission measurements and dispersion calculations. Odour exposure on immission level was determined by the use of a trained sniffing team. Odour annoyance was determined by panellists using a diary four times a day during a six week period. The odour annoyance was calculated as an Odour Annoyance Index. Distinction was made between different types of odours (rotten, wood). The relation between odour annoyance and the direction of wind and the distance of the observations from the source is presented. The relations between two dispersion models, the measured immission by the sniffing team and the odour annoyance, as determined by the panellists, are presented. RESULTS: The relations between the distance from the source and the odour annoyance is strong. The relation between the direction of wind and the odour annoyance is also strong. A trend is shown between the odour annoyance and the immission level determined by the sniffing team. A strong correlation is found between the exposure calculated with the dispersion models and the measurements by the sniffing team.