Follow-up study on health effects of microplastics started

On 3 and 4 June, the new MOMENTUM consortium will be officially launched. This launch starts with a two-day online kick-off meeting.

This new consortium was already announced during the presentation of the knowledge agenda on microplastics and health to Stientje van Veldhoven, State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management, last January. The most important message from the knowledge agenda is that more research is needed, a message with which MOMENTUM takes an important first step. MOMENTUM is a collaboration of many parties from universities, academic hospitals, research organisations, companies and other relevant stakeholders. 

The aim of this consortium is to determine and ultimately prevent the effects of micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) on human health.

Official launch

With the kick-off meeting, MOMENTUM officially starts. During this two-day online meeting, the focus is on establishing a common basis. The parties involved get to know each other better, discuss the current state of the science and follow in-depth parallel sessions on, among other things, new alternative methods, health impact assessments (HIA) and linking environmental and health risks. 

More research needed

This consortium has a size of 5.4 million euros and is financed by ZonMw, TNO, Health~Holland, various knowledge institutions and the business community. These parties endorse the call from the Microplastics and Health Knowledge Agenda for more research, and by funding the MOMENTUM consortium they are contributing to this. They also call on other involved parties to invest in research, because more follow-up research is badly needed.

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