Major mapping project reveals PFAS have been found at high levels at thousands of sites across Europe. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published its much-awaited proposal aimed at restricting 10,000 synthetic substances hazardous to human health, with the evaluation process set to start in March.
The EU Commission rejected a warning from pharmaceutical companies that extended producer responsibility (EPR) under the proposed revision of the wastewater directive could jeopardise access to medicines.
Despite being one of the most prevalent types of Legionnaires' disease, tracking the source of cases of community-acquired Legionnaires' disease (CALD) is notoriously difficult. An in-depth study in Berlin over three years found that the presence of a virulent type of Legionella pneumophila in household water was a significantly greater predictor for CALD than the overall concentration of all Legionella species.
Surveillance of Legionella in tourist facilities of a major European holiday destination found the pneumonia-causing bacteria present in over half of the evaluated areas.
An upcoming scientific study expected before May is assessing the available detection methods for pneumonia-causing Legionella bacteria in the light of the new monitoring requirements included in the recently revised EU's tap water rules.
Findings from a recent wastewater analysis reveal the rise in drug use amongst Europeans as the Commission wants to ban two increasingly used substances.
Cases of Legionnaires' disease reported to the French health agency Santé Publique France decreased in 2020, confirming a downward trend evident over previous years.
A new recommendation to the Dutch government suggests a hybrid risk approach on Legionella bacteria monitoring in implementing the new EU's tap water rules at member state levels.
What is legionellosis, the disease that took European Parliament's President David Sassoli out of the parliamentary game for more than two months? And how has the EU improved legislation to tackle the spread of the pneumonia-causing bacteria?
The increasing number of immunocompromised people exposed to COVID-disease combined with the raised risk of co-infections of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and respiratory pathogens creates a double whammy that cannot be overlooked.
Across the country, nitrates and arsenic have made the water undrinkable for village's residents, who number 350 in winter and nearly 1,000 in summer. Groundwater resources are at risk from agricultural pollution, a lack of water quality controls and drought.
As the hospitality sector is ready to reopen its doors and welcome back customers, some public health risks may arise if water systems in hotels have not been properly managed during the lockdown, a health expert warned.
Wastewater surveillance can be used to track the spread of new variants of the coronavirus among Europe's population, the EU's Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius told EURACTIV.
The new Portuguese framework for the prevention and control of Legionnaires’ diseases is compatible with the flexibility allowed under the European Union’s overhauled tap water rules, a Portuguese health expert has told EURACTIV.com.
Water is a critical global security matter and Slovenia intends to put it at the core of its EU presidency, which starts on 1 July, writes Dr Stanislav Raščan.
The European Parliament gave the final go-ahead to revised rules on Tuesday (15 December) that seek to update water quality parameters, in a bid to restore citizens’ trust in what comes out of the tap.
In the quest to control the pandemic, our best defense might be flowing underground. According to Science magazine, researchers in Paris spent several weeks this year sampling sewage for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In Germany,
An EU agreement to monitor tap water for the presence of potentially lethal Legionella bacteria takes into consideration the emergence of newer, more effective testing methods, a national public health expert told EURACTIV.
While waiting for the go-ahead to the overhauled Drinking Water Directive (DWD), some EU member states, as well as the UK, have already started implementing methods for microbiological analysis of water quality suggested in the new rules.
The inclusion of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the EU's Drinking Water Directive was a step forward that showed the EU's commitment to address these chemicals, Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius told EURACTIV.
Providing tap water with the same level of information and transparency as bottled water will restore citizens trust and help fulfil one of the main objectives of the Drinking Water Directive (DWD), says Philippe Hartemann.
Some researchers and scientists firmly criticised the European Commission's approach on assessing the risk of Pneumonia-causing bacteria in the Drinking Water Directive (DWD) during an event organised at the European Parliament by EURACTIV.
Finland’s EU presidency and MEPs in the new European Parliament will have to address all relevant health concerns when it comes to drinking water rules if they want to pass the historic first citizen-led EU legislation in the next term.
