The National Institute of Public Health and the Environment conducts research into public health and environmental issues in the Netherlands. It employs over 1500 researchers and technical personnel, and conducts research commissioned by a number of ministries. Policymakers use RIVM research findings to develop, implement and enforce policy. RIVM conducts its own research, but gathers data from all over the world, which it then interprets and applies. RIVM’s mission is to ‘Research at the service of man and the environment’. RIVM has a public task. And works on subjects with political and societal relevance on behalf of government bodies, and for three ministries in particular (Health, Welfare and Sport; Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment; Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries). RIVM is independent and has sole responsibility for its research and publications. The Centre for Environmental Health Research (MGO) is a department within RIVM. It has a staff of 36, and its research lies at the crossroads of public health and environmental quality.
Erik Lebret is Head of MGO at RIVM. He studied environmental health sciences at the University of Waageningen, where he also did his doctorate thesis on exposure to air pollution in the Dutch housing stock. He has worked on a variety of environment and health issues and impact assessments in national and international projects. He was principal investigator in a number of international multi-centre studies. He has served on national and international expert committees and review panels in Europe and the USA for the Dutch Health Council, WHO, US-EPA, European Science Foundation, and Heath Effects Institute. He is president of the International Society of Exposure Analysis, and associate editor of the Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology.
Irene van Kamp was educated at the University of Gröningen and Erasmus University in Rotterdam ( Netherlands) and has a BSc in sociology (BSc) and a PhD in psychology. Since January 2000 she has been a senior researcher at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, specialising in urban quality and quality of life. She is a co-worker in several EU 5th framework projects (RANCH and SELMA). She has organised national and international workshops on environmental quality and quality of life. She is an advisor on WHO projects on Housing and Health, Noise-response relations and EH Survey and the EU project on Transport and Health. Since 2001 Member of the International Society for Quality of Life research.
Flemming Cassee has been involved in research into adverse health effects of PM. He is currently Head of Department of Inhalation Toxicology and leader of the RIVM project on Ambient Particulate Matter and Health. He is a member of WHO and EU committees and invited reviewer of the US EPA and HEI.
RIVM will coordinate all activities within Subproject 1: Integrated assessment methods. In addition, RIVM will lead work package 3.1 (Traffic) and WP5.2 (Internal training). RIVM will also contribute to a number of work packages including WP1.1 (Assessment framework), WP1.2 (Source-exposure), WP 1.3 (Exposure-health effect), WP1.4 (Risk characterization), WP1.5 (Cross-cutting issues), WP 2.2 (Biomonitoring), WP 2.3 (Health surveillance), WP 2.4 (Integrated monitoring), WP 3.2 (Housing), WP3.5 (Chemicals in household products and articles), WP 4.2 (Toolbox development), WP5.1 (Integration), WP 6.1 (User consultation) and WP5.2 (External training).
