RIVM Publications Repository

Each year the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) produces numerous reports and publications on all aspects of public health, nutrition and food, health care, disaster management, nature and the environment. 
In addition, RIVM employees publish scientific articles in national and international journals.

Elk jaar brengt het Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM) talloze rapporten en adviezen uit over volksgezondheid en gezondheidszorg, voeding, natuur en milieu en rampenbestrijding. 
Daarnaast publiceren RIVM-medewerkers wetenschappelijke artikelen in (inter-)nationale tijdschriften.

We are constantly working to improve the Repository. Please contact our administrator if you have any further questions or remarks. 

Recent Submissions

  • PublicationMetadata only
    What’s the concern about persistent chemicals? Insights from a Delphi study
    (2025-07-16) Thiele, Karen; Tobi, Hilde; Gabbert, Silke
    Persistent chemicals are in the focus of regulators owing to their potential for long-term impacts on the environment and on human health. Since these impacts are difficult to predict and empirical data on their risks and effects is scarce, expert knowledge is a source of information that can facilitate a prioritisation of persistent chemicals for regulatory action. This Delphi study explored experts’ opinions on what kind of information is considered to be relevant to specify the concern associated with persistent chemicals. In addition, we asked experts to rate the importance of different factors of persistent chemicals to characterise the concern. Results show that experts considered a wide range of factors important, with factors related to the temporal and spatial scale of pollution as well as related to the severity of potential impacts receiving the highest ratings. The agreement among experts was relatively low, which may partly result from their different professional backgrounds, including different affiliations and geographic regions. When asked about recently emerging topics in the risk management of persistent chemicals, the majority of participants considered PMT chemicals to be of equal concern as PBT/vPvB chemicals. Also, they supported that ‘extreme persistence’ needs to be distinguished from the current regulatory definitions of ‘persistent’ and ‘very persistent’. Overall, the results of this Delphi study imply that for the effective risk management of persistent chemicals regulators should base their decisions on a broader range of information than exclusively focussing on a limited set of hazard criteria.
  • PublicationMetadata only
    Transitioning to a Circular Economy Safely and Sustainably: A Qualitative Exploration of System Barriers and Drivers for Industrial Biotechnology in the EU
    (2025-03-21) Flaherty, Denise; Hoefnagel, Iduna; Hogervorst, Petra AM; Klaassen, Pim
    Innovations in industrial biotechnology promise great potential for contributing to the circular economy as they can reduce our dependence on fossil-based raw materials. However, their environmental impacts and sustainability benefits can differ greatly. Therefore, it is important to consider the values of safety and sustainability when designing innovative applications for the circular economy transition. Transitions like the one from a linear to a circular economy are shaped by the dynamics between political, societal, economic, and technological developments. Insights from actors working with industrial biotechnology innovation or policies are useful to explore the barriers and drivers of legislation, culture, and the market in a circular economy transition. Results indicate that sustainability legislation, genetically modified organism (GMO) legislation, governmental policies, and societal resistance hinder early research and development and appear to delay sustainable industrial biotechnology applications from entering the European market. But the tide might be changing. As market and societal actors are learning how to navigate the tensions between safety and sustainability, they more openly underscore the sustainability benefits of using genetically modified microorganisms over potential risks to environmental and human safety. European policy and legislation are beginning to recognize the need for integrated policies that align safety, sustainability, and circularity needs.
  • PublicationMetadata only
    Supporting Safe-by-Design of Multi-Component Nanomaterials by Linking Functionality-Related Properties with Potential Safety Issues
    (2025-06-30) Swart, Elmer; Westerdiep, Jan-Harm; Badetti, Elena; Brunelli, Andrea; Cazzagon, Virginia; Fernandes, Teresa; Gielen, Anniek MC; Hristozov, Danail; van Kesteren, Petra CE; Krans, Nynke A; Ouhajji, Samia; Peijnenburg, Willie JGM; Rauscher, Hubert; Soeteman-Hernández, Lya G
    Advanced materials, including multicomponent nanomaterials (MCNMs), are rationally designed to show specific new or enhanced functionalities. They are considered key in solving current societal challenges, such as the energy transition, yet they represent a challenge themselves to safe innovation and risk assessment. One challenge is the lack of available toxicological information at early innovation stages. Instead, information on functionality and related material properties is generally available at these early innovation stages, but such information is typically not used in safety assessments. Safe-by-Design (SbD) aims to improve the safety of materials and products by integrating safety considerations with functionality as early as possible in the innovation process. To exploit the information on functionality for SbD purposes, a conceptual approach is presented that uses functionality-related material properties to flag potential impacts on risks and guide SbD. This approach relies on insights into relations between material properties and their potential impact on release, fate/toxicokinetics, and toxicity. These relations have been illustrated for 21 new or enhanced material properties that are incorporated in the design of MCNMs. For example, a set of “mechanical properties” was identified as likely to have an impact on release and fate/toxicokinetics of MCNMs, while “reactive properties” were expected to be able to affect their toxicity. The applicability of this approach was briefly explored through several case studies. The presented approach is designed to “flag” potential aspects of risk that require further consideration. These identified aspects can then support the application of SbD for MCNMs, including grouping of similar MCNMs to enable sharing of safety information. The approach is relevant at early stages in the innovation process, where toxicological information is still mostly absent.
  • PublicationMetadata only
    Safe and sustainable by design-compliant LDPE food packaging embedding multicomponent nanomaterials for food protection
    (2025-11-11) Brunelli, Andrea; Trabucco, Sara; Salgado, Cástor; Reinosa, Julian Jimenez; Fernandez, José Francisco; Serrano-Lotina, Ana; Bañares, Miguel A; Blosi, Magda; Peijnenburg, Willie; Soeteman-Hernandez, Lya G; Cassee, Flemming R; Fernandes, Teresa; Saccardo, Angela; Doak, Shareen H; Fito, Carlos; Gonzalez Fernandez, Ernesto; Salvador Hermosilla, Jorge; Garmendia Aguirre, Irantzu; Rauscher, Hubert; Stone, Vicki; Moschini, Elisa; Livieri, Arianna; Pizzol, Lisa; Hristozov, Danail; Marcomini, Antonio; Badetti, Elena
    In response to the significant global crop losses caused by insect pests, which affect up to 40% of crops annually, there is an urgent need for safer food protection methods. This study addresses this need by proactively developing a safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) alternative to synthetic pesticides. Guided by the EC-JRC SSbD framework, the research focuses on an advanced low density polyethylene (LDPE) film embedding a multicomponent nanomaterial (MCNM), consisting of bentonite nanoclays and clove essential oil (BNT–CEO), designed to repel beetles. In detail, a three-step premarket safe-by-design assessment was performed. The first step was the safety assessment of the BNT–CEO material through i) physicochemical characterization, ii) screening for potential hazards of chemical precursors, and iii) preliminary in vitro toxicity tests. Afterwards, worker safety during both BNT–CEO synthesis and LDPE(BNT–CEO) production was assessed, analyzing dust generation and workers' potential exposure through an industrial hygiene survey followed by occupational monitoring. Lastly, consumers' safety was covered assessing the LDPE(BNT–CEO) film degradation and potential for migration of chemicals, by comparing pristine and accelerated-aged samples. Compliance with EU Regulation 10/2011 was verified by analyzing the migration of substances into food simulants. The integration of these safety evaluations early in the design process of BNT–CEO and LDPE(BNT–CEO) allowed confirmation of the material's compliance with regulatory limits and contributed to the validation of the assessment procedure as proposed by the SSbD framework. The approach here applied demonstrates how to successfully balance effective pest protection with minimal impact on consumers and workers, paving the way for the development of safer and sustainable food packaging solutions.
  • PublicationMetadata only
    Report on influence of burst type on physicochemical characteristics. WP9[D9.30] PREDICT – D1.2
    (2025-02-07) Andersson, Kasper G; Brown, Justin; Hosseini, Ali; Bedwell, Peter; Igwesi, David; Jones, Kelly; Wellings, Joseph; Hamburger, Thomas; Mertes, Florian; Woda, Clemens; de Bode, Michiel; Kloosterman, Astrid; Raskob, Wolfgang; Trybushnyi, Dmytro; Hac-Heimburg, Agnieszka; Senstius, Elias Pagh; Axelsson, Anders; Kock, Peder; Blixt Buhr, Anna Maria
    The work reported is aimed at increasing the understanding and providing an improved background for modelling of the radiological consequences of atmospheric dispersion of the radioactive cloud from a nuclear bomb detonation. The nearest area to the epicentre would be so badly damaged by the fire and pressure wave that fallout would not be considered a major and immediate concern. At very great distances, the cloud would be so dispersed that resulting contamination levels would be trivial, but at intermediate distances the cloud passage could pose a significant radiological problem. The report describes how characteristics of a nuclear burst event, such as detonation height and weapon yield, influence the formation of the initial stabilized cloud. Particle size distributions and density are important for modelling atmospheric dispersion and various mathematical functions and data are proposed for different burst types and for predictions at different levels of detail. Noble gases considered in the project’s nuclide vector generally decay rather quickly, and their progeny would atmospherically be expected to behave like volatile radionuclides attaching to the surface of particles relatively late after the contaminant particle formation process. A section is dedicated to elucidating the influences of contaminant particle characteristics on their environmental solubility, migration and uptake.
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