Contribution to health protection / EU conference organised by the BMU
"We spent 80 to 90 per cent of our time indoors – and yet we know little about the detrimental effects on our health we are exposed to, for example through emissions from construction products. Therefore, analysing and assessing indoor air and reducing its pollution is a significant contribution to the quality of life," underlined Astrid Klug, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry, at the conclusion of the two-day EU conference on Construction Products and Indoor Air Quality in Berlin.
Emissions from construction products in rooms are a significant source of indoor air pollution which has to be evaluated and reduced to protect human health. Several EU Member States have drawn up approaches and processes for this purpose. In Germany the so-called AgBB scheme (committee for the assessment of the effects of construction products on human health) was established.
This conference, organised by the Federal Environment Ministry within the framework of the German EU Presidency, created a platform for the comprehensive exchange of experience and information about the various approaches. As a result of the conference, an EU-wide harmonisation will be aimed at in the long term. This means that a Europe-wide applicable concept for assessing and reducing emissions from construction products will be drawn up based on the various existing concepts.
Participants of the conference included representatives of the EU Member States, the EU Commission, trade and industry and environmental associations.