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IOM's major Environmental HIA research projects

IOM's early work on environmental HIA methods focused on the public health impacts of outdoor air pollution (see HIA of Outdoor Air Pollution). This is still an active research area at IOM (see Developing Methods for Environmental HIAn). However, IOM's method development in environmental HIA, done collaboratively with others, is now much wider than outdoor air pollution.

Developing methods for EU policy making: HEIMTSA

Integrated Environmental HIA looks at the full environmental health impacts of policies and measures, across all industry sectors and pollutants affected by those policies and measures. HEIMTSA is designed to inform the development of policy EU-wide by developing methods, tools, worked examples and capability in Integrated Environmental HIA, with special focus on EU-wide policies and measures. In doing so, it draws on earlier EU environmental HIA projects, such as EXIOPOL and METHODEX, where IOM also was a partner.

HEIMTSA is led by IOM and involves 21partners across Europe, working together to support the development of environment and health policy in Europe by:

  • Developing methods in integrated environmental health impact assessment;
  • Providing worked examples (case studies);
  • Developing tools
  • Building capacity, through dissemination and training

The project is funded by the EU as in integrated project under FP6. It runs for 4 years and finishes in January 2011. In its current and final phase, HEIMTSA is working jointly with INTARESE to:

  • Assess the wider environmental health impacts of EU-wide policies to mitigate or adapt to climate change, and
  • Provide tools (an online Guidance System; a Toolkit of stand-alone tools; and Integrated Environmental HIA Computational System) for Integrated Environmental HIA.

HIA of indoor air pollution

Indoor air pollution has long been recognised as an important public health issue. It is a current priority of the European Commission and several national and regional authorities within Europe.

Within HEIMTSA, and a companion project IAPAH, led by University of Galway and funded by the EPA in Ireland, IOM is developing methods for HIA of indoor air pollution, especially pollution from combustion sources indoors – environmental tobacco smoke; coal, wood, peat, for heating and cooking; gas cooking. See IOM Indoor Air Quality Projects for more on IAPAH and IOM and Indoor Air Quality for more on IOM's work on indoor air pollution generally.

Supporting environment and health policy in Scotland: EDPHiS

Environmental Determinants of Public Health in Scotland (EDPHiS) is a 4-year project, funded by the Scottish Government, designed to provide scientific evidence to inform the development of environment and health policy in Scotland; as such, EDPHiS forms part of the Intelligence Partnership of the Scottish Government's policy initiative Good Places, Better Health (GPBH).

The work is being carried out by a consortium of 10 partners, mostly Scottish-based, led by IOM. It focuses on the children's environmental exposures and health; in particular, the four priority health effects of the current (prototype) version of GPBH – obesity; unintentional injuries; asthma; and mental health and well-being – and so EDPHiS is a further broadening of IOM's work in Integrated Environmental HIA.