HEAL General Assembly welcomes new members, votes in new Executive Committee and its strategic plan
HEAL's 2016 Annual General Assembly, which took place on 20 and 21 October elected a new Executive Committee, welcomed five new member organisations and agreed HEAL's 2016-2020 strategic plan. Read more…
EU-Canada Trade and Investment Deal fails its first democratic test
On 21 October, Belgium rejected the flawed EU-Canada trade and investment deal, which would have expanded the rights of corporations to challenge laws protecting public health and the environment. Read more…
HEAL becomes member of the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution
HEAL is pleased to announce its recent membership to the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP), which aims for a world where the health of present and future generations, especially children and pregnant women, is safe from toxic pollution. Read more…
International lead poisoning prevention week of action
From 23 to 29 October, HEAL as a partner of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead in Paint is supporting the international lead poisoning prevention week of action. Read more...
European Parliament sets strong signals on food contact materials
On 6 October the European Parliament voted with a large majority on a Report about Food Contact Materials (FCM) initiated by the Parliament in order to give their opinion to the Commission on how EU laws on all materials that come into contact with food, from farm to home, are being implemented. Read more...
PAN Europe launches EU tour on EDCs
PAN Europe together with its members and allies including HEAL has launched a tour in Europe to raise awareness on EDCs and call on member states to take action and protect health. In many EU capitals and European cities, events will be organised to inform the European countries about the need for a revised proposal to protect health and the environment. Read more...
Do breakfast cereals contain endocrine disrupting pesticides?
The findings from a recent Générations Futures survey on muesli showing the ubiquity of cocktails of endocrine disrupting pesticides in the everyday environment, highlight the need for the EU Commission to revise its proposed criteria to identify EDCs to protect health. Read more...
EDCs on October Environment Council agenda
Environment Ministers from Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden raised the issue of the EU EDCs criteria at the recent EU Environment Council and argued that the criteria is too important to be decided in the so-called ‘comitology' procedure. Read more...
Lifting Europe's Dark Cloud: How cutting coal saves lives
Effective emissions limits could save thousands of lives every year, yet more than half of coal power stations in Europe are operating with 'permission to pollute' above limits set in EU law. These are the finding in a new report by HEAL, EEB, WWF, CAN Europe and Sandbag. Read more…
Paris Climate Agreement to enter into force on 4 November
The global agreement on climate change mitigation, the Paris Agreement is to enter into force on 4 November 2016 after recent ratification by the EU. Read more…
HEAL on the road to COP22
As the world is still rejoicing over the strong COP21 Paris climate agreement, HEAL and its members are already engaging with the health community to keep up the strong call for health in climate negotiations at COP22 in Marrakesh. Read more…
WHO: 90 percent of world's population breathes dirty air
Nine out of 10 people globally live in places with poor air quality. A recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) blames a worldwide air pollution crisis for being a major factor in millions of deaths per year. Read more…
Kraków wins case over tougher air pollution law
The Regional Administrative Court in Poland has dismissed a complaint by some residents in Kraków on the so-called anti-smog resolution. The resolution, which comes into force on 1 September 2019, will prohibit burning fossil fuels, such as coal and wood in household stoves and boilers in order to improve air quality in the city. Read more…
HEAL joins partnership on air quality
On 10 October, HEAL participated in an official meeting of the Partnership on Air Quality, an action initiated by the Dutch Ministry of Environment, with the main objective to improve air quality in cities and to bring the ‘healthy city' higher on the EU agenda as part of the Urban Agenda. Read more…
It is now time to phase out dental amalgam use in the EU
HEAL welcomes a vote by the European Parliament Environment Committee for overwhelmingly requesting the phase out of dental amalgam use by 31 December 2022, as well as the swifter prohibition of amalgam use ‘for the treatment of pregnant or breastfeeding women or individuals who undergo treatment on their deciduous teeth', one year after the date of entry into force of the Regulation. Read more...
Call to European Parliament Environment Committee for ambitious EU mercury regulation
HEAL joined civil society organisations to call on members of the European Parliament Environment Committee to vote for an ambitious EU Mercury Regulation and to support in particular, amendments requiring the largest air emitters in the EU to reduce mercury emissions. Read more...
Members' news
ELF - Legacy of coal still burning issue 60 years on
EFA - Malaga-London declaration on Asthma Research Investment translated into 19 languages!
Wemos - Two events: 1000 days of plastic, and radio interview for Dutch program EenVandaag
Breast Cancer UK - Santa Fun Run!
Alliance for Cancer Prevention - Book reading of 'So Much to Be Done'
EUROPAEM - Guidelines 2016 for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of EMF related health problems and illnesses
WECF - One step towards a safer blood bag
Alliance for Cancer Prevention - Why are we still ignoring the elephant in the room?
RES - Lecture in Belgium on ending the breast cancer epidemic
PAN Europe - PAN Europe supports the Monsanto Tribunal
Publications
HEAL Activity Report 2015
Lifting Europe's Dark Cloud – How cutting coal saves lives
HEAL supports urgent call for signatories: Health for 55% of the world's population
Events
October
23 – 29: 4th International lead poisoning prevention week of action (HEAL as a partner)
24 – 27, Strasbourg, France: EP Plenary
25, Zurich, Switzerland: Food packaging forum workshop
November
7 – 18, Marrakech, Morocco: UNFCCC COP22 - HEAL delegation participating
9 – 12, Austria, Vienna: European Public Health Conference
14 - 18, San Francisco, USA: IPEN Global meeting and toxic-free future forum
16: World COPD Day
21: ENVI Working Group on Health - "Exchange of good practice in the field of health promotion and primary prevention"
21 – 24, Strasbourg, France: EP Plenary
22, Brussels, Belgium: Workshop on “Acceptable level of risk to workers and consumers exposed to carcinogenic substances”
29, Vienna, Austria: WHO, 6th meeting of European Environment and Health Task Force, Negotiation of the Conference Declaration/outcomes
December
8, Brussels, Belgium: Launch event of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative HBM4EU – HEAL participating
9 – 10, London, UK: Healthy Planet better world conference organised by IPPNW affiliate and HEAL member Medact
Take Action
Clearing the air: Support Client Earth's Europe-wide campaign on air pollution
SumOfUs petition to European governments to reject Commission proposal on EDCs criteria
Non à la proposition scandaleuse de la Commission européenne sur les perturbateurs endocriniens!
Petition to German federal government on EDCs - Hormongifte stoppen!
WeMove.EU - Petition to EU to ban glyphosate
HEAL in the media
Kohle kostet Leben, Scharf-links.de, Germany, 12 October 2016
‘Deadly derogations' for polluting coal plants must end – NGOs, ENDS Europe Daily, 11 October 2016
EU governments face demands to cut coal emissions, British Medical Journal, 11 October 2016
HEAL: Elektrownie węglowe nas trują, potrzebne nowe limity, Gramwzielone, Poland, 11 October 2016
French study ramps up pressure on Commission to revise EDC criteria, ENDS Europe Daily, 11 October 2016
HEAL tweets
Medical doctors are also speaking out against coal. Our new report shows how we can cut #coal and save lives! https://goo.gl/s6ip1X
Why does the EU Commission need to know about new findings on muesli? https://goo.gl/0Z2uUI #EDCFree @genefutures @EuropePAN
We have just hit over 6000 followers! Big 'THANK YOU' for your support - we'll continue to update you on #health & #environment news daily!