The POLYRISK project aims unraveling the risks of microplastic and nanoplastic particles (MNP) that are ubiquitous in our environment and are likely to be entering the human body via inhalation and ingestion. The most bioavailable low-micron and nano-sized MNP, pose the biggest analytical challenges or today’s analytical chemists. Existing knowledge about the adverse pro-inflammatory effects of airborne particulate matter and nanoparticles, combined with pro-inflammatory evidence of MNP exposure observed in animal models and in vitro pilot tests with human immune cells, suggests that MNP may cause immunotoxicity in humans. Occupational exposure of workers to fibrous MNP can indeed lead to granulomatous lesions, causing respiratory irritation, functional abnormalities and flock worker’s lung. Currently, human health risk assessment protocols specific to MNP are not available and key data is missing. This hampers science-based decision making. On this backdrop, POLYRISK’s human risk assessment strategy will combine highly advanced sampling, sample pretreatment and analytical methods to detect MNP in complex matrices, up-to-date fit-for-purpose hazard assessment technologies and multiple real-life human exposure scenarios. We will focus on key toxic events linked to several chronic inflammatory diseases. The consortium uniquely brings together interdisciplinary experience and know-how on quality-controlled chemical analyses of MNP and additives, intestinal and respiratory toxicity models, human exposure epidemiology, immunotoxicology and real-life high-exposure studies. POLYRISK’s novel human risk assessment strategy is based on mechanistic reasoning and pragmatically accommodates the complexity of the MNP toxicant class. Building with ground-breaking science, stakeholder engagement and strong communication, POLYRISK aims to rapidly reduce current MNP risk uncertainties and support EU efforts to ensure public health is adequately protected from the potential risks of MNP pollution. POLYRISK is a part of the European cluster on Health Impacts of Micro- and Nanoplastics.

PARC is an EU-wide research and innovation partnership programme to support EU and national chemical risk assessment and risk management bodies with new data, knowledge, methods, networks and skills to address current, emerging and novel chemical safety challenges. PARC will facilitate the transition to next generation risk assessment to better protect human health and the environment, in line with the Green Deal?s zero-pollution ambition for a toxic free environment and will be an enabler for the future EU ?Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability?. It builds in part on the work undertaken and experience acquired in past and on-going research and innovation actions, but goes beyond by its vocation to establish an EU-wide risk assessment hub of excellence. To contribute to several expected impacts of destination 2 ?Living and working in a health-promoting environment?, PARC will organise the activities to reach three specific objectives: - An EU-wide sustainable cross-disciplinary network to identify and agree on research and innovation needs and to support research uptake into regulatory chemical risk assessment. - Joint EU research and innovation activities responding to identified priorities in support of current regulatory risk assessment processes for chemical substances and to emerging challenges. - Strengthening existing capacities and building new transdisciplinary platforms to support chemical risk assessment. The Partnership brings together Ministries and national public health and risk assessment agencies, as well as research organisations and academia from almost all of EU Member States. Representatives of Directorates-General of the EC and EU agencies involved in the monitoring of chemicals and the assessment of risks are also participating. PARC will meet the needs of risk assessment agencies to better anticipate emerging risks and respond to the challenges and priorities of the new European policies.

Considering the growing transport demand and dependence on oil, collective and immediate actions must be taken to abate emissions and mitigate their environmental and health impacts. Very fine particles emissions, and the formation of secondary aerosols through atmospheric processing, are believed to be the pollutant with the greatest public health impact, even if there is a major knowledge gap concerning their atmospheric behaviour (e.g. mechanism/contribution to smog episodes). AEROSOLS is a 36-months timely, ambitious, and interdisciplinary project with aim to define robust and transparent measurement and modelling methodologies to quantify the currently disregarded volatile/semi-volatile (V/S-V) primary and secondary emissions, and their associated risks. Furthermore, technological and legislative monitoring/abating mechanisms will be proposed to control these emissions in order to help improve air quality and public health. This will be achieved by: - quantifying V/S-V emissions formation, abatement, and dynamics within the vehicle system under real-driving-emissions (RDE) testing conditions on roads and in labs utilising innovative instrumentations and methodologies; - characterising secondary aerosol formation and atmospheric evolution mechanisms employing advanced instrumentations (e.g. for particles as small as 1nm), methodologies, and modelling to provide scientific evidence of the precursors’ role; - categorising (‘taxonomising’) and prioritising (assisted by Artificial Intelligence) primary and secondary emissions compounds based on their health impact (by employing in vitro/vivo testing), environmental/social life-cycle-assessment, and risk. Advocacy information will be provided to the stakeholders and legislation/policy makers and proposals will be made for improving the standards/regulations, and consequently the air quality. The support of stakeholders and partners will accelerate the transition to a cleaner and climate-neutral society/economy.