European Commission’s Scientific Committee publishes Statement and Position

17 January, 2019.

The European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) published a statement and a position paper on emerging health and environmental issues.

The SCHEER statement on emerging health and environmental issues draws the Commission Services’ attention to 14 emerging issues in the non-food area that Committee members have identified as having a potential impact on human health and/or the environment in the future. Among the risks identified is the increase of pharmaceuticals and illicit drug loads in wastewater as a result of rise in the use of drugs, aging population and fly tipping of waste from illegal drug manufacturing sites. The presence of antibiotics in surface water may represent a change in the functioning of ecosystems and a risk to human health.

URL:
https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/scientific_committees/scheer/docs/scheer_s_002.pdf