Considering the growing transport demand and dependence on oil, collective and immediate actions must be taken to abate emissions and mitigate their environmental and health impacts. Very fine particles emissions, and the formation of secondary aerosols through atmospheric processing, are believed to be the pollutant with the greatest public health impact, even if there is a major knowledge gap concerning their atmospheric behaviour (e.g. mechanism/contribution to smog episodes). AEROSOLS is a 36-months timely, ambitious, and interdisciplinary project with aim to define robust and transparent measurement and modelling methodologies to quantify the currently disregarded volatile/semi-volatile (V/S-V) primary and secondary emissions, and their associated risks. Furthermore, technological and legislative monitoring/abating mechanisms will be proposed to control these emissions in order to help improve air quality and public health. This will be achieved by: - quantifying V/S-V emissions formation, abatement, and dynamics within the vehicle system under real-driving-emissions (RDE) testing conditions on roads and in labs utilising innovative instrumentations and methodologies; - characterising secondary aerosol formation and atmospheric evolution mechanisms employing advanced instrumentations (e.g. for particles as small as 1nm), methodologies, and modelling to provide scientific evidence of the precursors’ role; - categorising (‘taxonomising’) and prioritising (assisted by Artificial Intelligence) primary and secondary emissions compounds based on their health impact (by employing in vitro/vivo testing), environmental/social life-cycle-assessment, and risk. Advocacy information will be provided to the stakeholders and legislation/policy makers and proposals will be made for improving the standards/regulations, and consequently the air quality. The support of stakeholders and partners will accelerate the transition to a cleaner and climate-neutral society/economy.

The main goal of PlasticsFatE (Plastics Fate and Effects in the Human Body) is to improve our present understanding of the impact of micro- and nano-plastics (MP/NP) and associated additives/adsorbed contaminants (A/C) in the human body. Human exposure to MP/NP may result from the widespread use of plastic products and their release to the environment, where they degrade to MP/NP particles. But plastics particles reach natural systems also as secondary by-products, e.g., from tyre wear or abrasion of textiles. As a consequence, these particles are found in food, drinking water, air and environmental media (food chain, soils). Despite recent efforts to assess the real dimension of human risks associated with MP/NP, our current knowledge is still insufficient. One of the reasons is the lack of reliable and validated methods that are able to generate the science-based data we need. PlasticsFatE will address this challenge and associated uncertainties by implementing a comprehensive measurement and testing program ("test the test"), including inter-laboratory studies, to improve and validate the performance and applicability of available methods and tools to MP/NP. The tested and validated approaches will be used to (1) identify and detect MP/NP and A/C in a variety of complex matrices, such as food (vegetables, fruits, beverages, fish etc.), human tissues and consumer products (tooth paste, beauty products), as well as relevant environmental media (air, drinking water, soils), and to (2) assess their (also long-term) fate and toxicity in the human body by using advanced cell culture and organ models that simulate real exposure to MP/NP in the respiratory and gastro-intestinal tract. The newly developed innovative approaches will be integrated into a novel risk assessment strategy specifically designed for MP/NP to provide the policy relevant and scientifically sound data needed to support the health-relevant aims of European strategies for plastics. PlasticsFatE is part of the European MNP cluster on human health.

TOWARDS A SYSTEM BASED, HOLISTIC ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF CHEMICALS (SYBERAC) Biodiversity is key to modern society, sustaining natural resources and providing essential ecosystem services. According to the UN Sustainable Development goals, the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity strategy and other European and national level Directives and strategic regulations, pollution is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss. The risks resulting from the use, release and effects of chemical on the environment is addressed in a plethora of EU-level Directives and regulatory strategies, each with specific (chemical) targets and protection aims. There is, however, concern that such a fragmented approach does alleviate the threats of chemicals to biodiversity and ecosystem services. To protect genetic and functional biodiversity from pollution impacts, a paradigm shift is needed. This transformation should move beyond the current fragmented Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) performed in specific regulatory silos, e.g., Plant Protection Products (PPPs)regulation for pesticides, REACH for industrial chemicals and Biocides framework for Biocidal chemicals, towards a harmonised and systems-based ERA applicable to all chemicals, species and land use functions. To make this advance, SYBERAC will provide ways forward to rationalise the current silo-based Protection Goals into high-level system-based Protection Goals and to operationalise their use within systems-based ERA robust and broadly applicable ERA structures. Six case studies, overarching different silos of current ERA will provide proof-of-concepts of the developed approaches. Based on targeted stakeholder engagement, in close cooperation with other relevant projects on the topic, results and outcomes will be disseminated towards a wide audience, including national and EU level regulatory institutions, industrial partners but also land managers, farmers and conservation bodies.