2FUN  Full-Chain and Uncertainty Approaches for Assessing Health Risks in Future Environmental Scenarios

Project duration

February 2007 - January 2011

Main objective  

Project 2-FUN develops methods and cutting-edge health risk analysis tools to help the decision-makers to define their priorities in environmental health management. 

Project in brief

2-FUN work program defines 4 technical work-packages, WP1 to WP4, and two workpackages for dissemination and management.
The tools developed will be tested within WP4 based on three case-studies covering a wide range of environmental, temporal, spatial, sectorial and social problems in three regions of Europe:

• Evolution of air pollution, consequences of climate change and emissions of air pollutants in Portugal.

• Choices of industrial technologies to minimise the impact of the industrial and agricultural activities on population health, at the level of a river watershed in France.

• Health risk assessment for children living in the industrial area of Upper Silesia in Poland.
  

Key accomplishments  

2-FUN will engage in a structured dialogue with all interested parties (stakeholders, policy-makers and researchers) to monitor large environment- and health-focused scientific initiatives and to incorporate stakeholders' vision and needs regarding the development of tools for health risk assessment. The developed tools will provide policy-makers with relevant and easy-to-use information.

General tasks

Specific scientific actions will be set up to develop methodologies, databases, models, and software on the following topics:

• Building future realistic environmental, human exposure and socio-economic scenarios;

• Integrated exposure and effect assessment of multi-stressors via multiple routes;

• Integration of children's issues in health risk assessments;

• Development of uncertainty models for improved health management;

• Demonstrations of a full-chain approach for health risk assessment.
  

IETU's role in the implementation of the project

IETU's role in the project is coordinating of WP4: "Integrated construction and assessment of scenarios by the 2-FUN full-chain approach" (Jadwiga Gzyl, PhD) and participating in WP4 and WP5. 
IETU develops case study: "Land management in a heavy industry region (Upper Silesia region - Poland)".
The aim of the case study is an environmental sources assessment of children exposed to toxic metals and verification of the intermediate results through the use of a monitoring dataset in the environment (already existing). The groups of examined children are living in different places of Upper Silesia Region.
This case study will thus be a material for demonstrating how the full-chain approach dedicated to children, that is included in the 2-FUN exposure models, can provide guidelines for future land management in highly industrial regions.
There are the following tasks in WP4:
Task 1: Analysis of previous studies, identification of gaps and definition of specification for the development of 2-FUN tools. 
Task 2: Collection of existing datasets for initiating CSs and for validating intermediate results. 
Task 3: Use of functionalities proposed by the 2-FUN toolbox to conduct advanced health risk assessments
IETU also participates in WP5: "Promoting methodologies on risk assessment by dissemination and training", e.g. internal training for partners involved in case studies (WP4). 

Co-ordinator of the project

Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Verneuil en Halatte, Francja
Dr Frederic Bois, INERIS, frederic.bois@ineris.fr

Project consortium  

Project website:

•  http://www.2-fun.org

Contact person at IETU:

Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas
Jadwiga Gzyl, PhD
ul. Kossutha 6 
40-833 Katowice 
tel.: +48-32-254 60-31 ext. 141
fax: +48-32-254 17-17 
e-mail: gzyl@ietu.katowice.pl

Polish Thematic Network for Environmental Technologies

Polish Thematic Network for Problems of Air Pollution and Climate Change