POLYRISK

CUSP workshop on human health risk assessment frameworks for micro- and nanoplastics
2023-03-14 12:30 - 17:00 (Europe/Berlin) | Online
Assessing human health effects of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) is challenging for several reasons. MNPs are complex mixtures. MNPs may have different geometries, shapes and sizes. They can be made from different polymer types and contain various additives and contaminants.
Join us for a special workshop on Tuesday 14 March at 12:30 – 17:00 CET, organised by the POLYRISK project in collaboration with CUSP, to join a discussion on how to establish frameworks for assessing human health risks of MNPs. The first session of the workshop will provide an overview on existing approaches and frameworks for polymers and nanomaterials, which might be relevant for MNPs. The second session will see discussions how the existing approaches and frameworks can be adapted for MNPs.
Participants are invited to actively engage in the scientific discussions during the breakout sessions. Some of the questions to be tackled include: ‘how useful are the existing frameworks for MNPs?’ and ‘where should we set priorities for research in the next few years?’.
Registered participants will receive selected background materials approximately one week ahead of the workshops. A written summary will be shared afterwards.
This workshop is part of a three-part series on the human risk assessment of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) organised by CUSP Working Group on Risk Assessment (WG5) and CUSP member projects. The first workshop, organized by WG5 and PlasticHeal on February 7th, focused on regulatory insights and knowledge gaps. The second workshop within the series is about risk assessment frameworks on March 14th and organized by WG5 and PolyRisk. The third workshop, organized by WG5 and PlasticsFatE, will take place on April 21st and will focus on data and information gaps.
Registration
Interested stakeholders can register for this workshop here. This event is free of charge and open to all interested stakeholders including researchers, those involved in policy-making, and professionals interested in the risk assessment of MNPs. The meeting will take place virtually via Zoom, and a meeting link will be sent to you automatically upon registration.
Click here to download the agenda for the workshop.

A free webinar is being hosted by SETAC: Recommendations for Microplastic Toxicity Testing and Hazard Characterization
2022-07-18 22:00 - 23:30
About this event
Reliable toxicity data is needed to assess the potential risk of microplastic exposure to aquatic ecosystems. This includes a more complete foundational understanding of microplastic toxicity and better characterization of the hazards they may present. However, there are notable shortcomings and data gaps in the available microplastic toxicity literature. This presentation will summarize specific research recommendations from an international expert panel to gain a better understanding of the key drivers of microplastic toxicity and the concentrations at which adverse effects may occur, allowing a better understanding of the potential risk that microplastics exposure might pose to aquatic ecosystems.
Register here: bit.ly/MPToxHaz

InnoMat.Life: From Nano- to Advanced Materials
2022-06-27 - 2022-06-28
This conference addresses stakeholders from policy, science, industry and NGOs who are dealing with regulatory implications of innovative materials in the context of chemical safety. InnoMat.Life will present the final project outcomes and aims to discuss them in a broader context of other ongoing initiatives.
Find out more and register here: https://www.bfr-akademie.de/english/innomatlife.html

Progressing Together – 2nd CUSP Annual Meeting
2022-06-08 - 2022-06-10
CUSP members will convene in Ispra, Italy from June 8–10 for the consortium’s second annual meeting.
In a hybrid event taking place in part at the facilities of the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) in Ispra, Italy and in part online, CUSP members will discuss the progress achieved during the last year, while coordinating research efforts for the near future. After a year of communicating only online due to COVID-related circumstances, at least part of the group will finally have the chance to meet in person.
The three-day meeting will be kicked off by 2022 CUSP Chair, Alba Hernández from Plasticheal and feature speakers from the European Commission, the Joint Research Centre, and the European Food Safety Authority. Important points of discussion will be policy needs regarding micro- and nanoplastics and how to effectively communicate science to policymakers. From a more scientific perspective, JRC scientists will address how to balance the desirable with the possible with regards to nanoplastics material for research.
Over the three meeting days, the five Project Coordinators from AURORA, Imptox, Plasticheal, PlasticsFatE and Polyrisk will share their research developments, while also coordinating efforts with the leaders of the six CUSP working groups.
The meeting will close on Friday, June 10 in the early afternoon with a pathway forward and final remarks by this year’s CUSP Chair.
Stay tuned for updates on CUSP social media (Linkedin & Twitter) and via the CUSP website.
If you are a CUSP member and would like to attend, contact your Project Coordinator to sign up by May 3rd latest.

POLYRISK General Assembly
2022-05-09 - 2022-05-11 | in person and hybrid, Utrecht, Netherlands

Plastic Health Summit
2021-10-21
The Plastic Health Summit, organised by the Plastic Soup Foundation, will take place in Amsterdam and online.
It is hard to imagine a world without plastic. In fact, it is almost unavoidable; we eat, drink and breathe micro- and nanoplastics – and their harmful chemical additives – every single day. What is that doing to our health?
Speakers from all parts of the world will present groundbreaking science about the status of our exposure, as well as compelling stories on environmental justice and plastics up close and personal.
The Plastic Health Summit focuses exclusively on how the presence of microplastics and chemical additives in the environment is affecting our health. The event brings togetherall stakeholders involved, from scientists and policymakers to politicians, citizens, influencers, NGOs, industry and innovators to collaboratively work towards a Healthy Future for All.

Symposium: Challenges of microplastic analysis – Bridging state of the art and policy needs
2021-09-09 14:00 - 18:00
This event will summarise the outcome of a recent JRC/BAM inter-laboratory comparison (ILC) study on the measurement of microplastics in water and present other similar studies. The results of these studies will be put in perspective with policy needs in view of (existing or upcoming) legislation. A plenary discussion on bridging state of the art of microplastics analysis and policy needs should lead towards identification of practical approaches for microplastic monitoring.
The Symposium will bring together experts in the field, public authorities and legislators interested in the topic.
Draft agenda of the event in the announcement at the JRC Science Hub: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/event/workshop/challenges-microplastic-analysis
The participation in the symposium is free of charge, but registration is compulsory: https://web.jrc.ec.europa.eu/remjrc/screen/meeting/8426/registration-form
The deadline for registration is 4 September 2021.

Science to Policy: Understanding the health risks of MNPs and acting on them
2021-06-09 14:00 - 18:00
Official European Cluster on Health Impacts of Micro- And NanoPlastic (CUSP) launch

Micro- and nanoplastics: What knowledge gaps need to be filled, and why?
2021-06-03 17:00 - 17:30
Green Week panel discussion with policy makers, other stakeholders and very short European Cluster on Health Impacts of Micro- And NanoPlastic (CUSP) presentation
