Project duration

25.02.2006 - 25.02.2011

Main objective  

The objective of the project is to determine the results of long term human exposure of low pollutants concentration on the health of susceptible human populations to indicate the possibility of its diminishing

Project in brief

I. Which are the problems? 

1. We will epidemiologically assess the impact of toxic metals (particularly cadmium, mercury, lead and manganese) exposure through foods on diseases of public health concern (cardiovascular, nervous system, osteoporosis, kidneys, diabetes, anemia, cancer). Some studies will utilize unique biobank material.

2. Particular interest will be paid to interaction between toxic elements in mixed exposures (metals and other pollutants), and on "new" elements (platinum, palladium, rhodium and manganese).

3. We will characterize benefits of essential elements (selenium, zinc)/other dietary components (fatty acids, fibre), and describe some aspects of risk/benefit relationships.

4. We will address the pathomechanisms.

5. We will focus on susceptible groups (fetuses/infants/children, fertile women and elderly, gene-environment interactions), as regards metabolism and toxic effects.

II. Where are the problems?

6. We will develop and validate new methods for biomonitoring of exposures.

7. We will define geographical patterns/sources of exposure in EU member states, especially in children.

8. We will assess time trends of exposure, retrospective and prospectively.
   

Key accomplishments  

We will develop probabilistic models, describing the exposures and exposure-response patterns. This will enable scientifically-based decisions by national, EU and international bodies on preventive actions and follow-up.
We will explore mechanisms of uptake and distribution of toxic and essential elements in plants, which will make it possible to breed species which with low concentrations of toxic elements and high of essential. This means a possibility to change the intakes through plant foods and the transportation into animal foods.

General tasks

This project contains three pillars, each with several work packages (with several sub-projects). In addition, there will be eight horisontal (cross-cutting) work areas.

IETU's role in the implementation of the project

After the project is completed, the IETU will disseminate the results among the appropriate scientific and administrative institutions which may contribute in diminishing of human exposure to metals 

Co-ordinator of the project

IDr Staffan Skerfving
Karolinska Institutet, Sztokholm, Szwecja
http://www.york.ac.up/res/phime

Project consortium    

Instytut Ekologii Terenów Uprzemysłowionych, Katowice, Poland
Instytut Medycyny Pracy i Zdrowia Środowiskowego w Sosnowcu, Sosnowiec, Poland
Uniwersytet Warszawski, Warszawa, Poland
Lunds Universitet, Lund, Sweden
Institute Josef Stefan, Lubljana, Slovenia
Institute of Child Health, Athens, Greece
Karolinska Institutet, Sztokholm, Sweden
Umea University, Umea, Sweden
Institute for Biomedical Research, Kaunas University of Medicine, Kaunas, Lithuania
Universite Catolique de Luvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Ministry of Health and Social Services, Health Department, Victoria, the Seychelles
National Institute of Public Health, Prague, Chech Republic
University of Ulster, Cleraine, Wielka Brytania
Oikon Ltd, Instutute of Applied Ecology, Zagreb, Croatia
Oy Jurilab Ltd, Kuopio, Finland
Regional Authority of Public Health, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
Faroese hospital System, Torshavn, Faroe Islands
Interantional Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Universita di Udine Dipartimento di Patologia e Medicina Sperimentale e Clinica, Udine, Italy
University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Syddansk Universitet, Odense, Denmark
The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Frederiksberg, Denmark
Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Tjele, Denmark
Leibniz-Institut fuer Pflanzenbiochemie, Halle, Germany
University of Southampton, Southampton, Great Britain
Universitaet Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, Munich, Germany
University of York, York, Great Britain
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, New York, USA

Project website:

• http://www.york.ac.up/res/phime

Contact person at IETU:

Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas
Aleksandra Sas-Nowosielska, PhD
Kossutha 6 Str. 
40-833 Katowice 
tel.: +48-32-254 60-31 ext. 252 i 296
fax: +48-32-254 17-17 
e-mail: sas@ietu.katowice.pl

Polish Thematic Network for Environmental Technologies

Polish Thematic Network for Problems of Air Pollution and Climate Change