IVL heads international working group to address chemicals in the indoor environment
For many years IVL has been a member of the European Norman Network that addresses emergent pollutants, i.e., substances currently found in the environment but whose presence and significance are only now being elucidated. Norman has now launched a working group, led by IVL, to address issues of the indoor environment.
The goods and products that surround us us emit chemicals into the environment. For certain substances, indoor emission may be the dominant propagation path. – We spend an average of 85-90 percent of our time indoors, so the indoor environment has a huge impact when it comes to the amount of chemicals we are exposed to. Some substances are found in higher concentrations indoors than outdoors because they come from the furniture, electronics and other consumer products that we surround ourselves with in our homes. Although these are an important source of human exposure, we know far too little about chemicals in the inner environment and the role different construction materials play in this regard, says Eva Brorström Lundén, Researcher at IVL and Project manager for the new Working Group. The new inner environment team will have a key role in identifying the substances and substance groups that should be prioritized for action. The aim is to create a common knowledge base of new risk chemicals in the indoor environment, identify key pathways and determine how chemicals affect human health and the environment. The Norman network was established in 2005 with support from the EU's Sixth Framework Programme, and is today a permanent network made up of reference laboratories, research organizations, government and industry. The network has a major role as a link between researchers and policy makers. Further information on the Norman network can be found at www.norman-network.net For more information, please contact: Eva Brorström Lundén E-mail: eva.bl@ivl.se Phone: 046 (0)31-725 62 30