News

PEOPLE results: Results from Project PEOPLE Benzene measurements are ready. Individual sample values were sent to volunteers and it is already made its public presentation:

• European final results and report, September 2005 [Final Report (pdf)]

• Lisbon results, 17 July 2003, at the European Union Representation in Portugal, Largo Jean Monet, Lisboa. [Lisbon report (pdf)] [PEOPLE-Citizenship slides (ppt)] [JRC press kit (html)]

• Brussels results, 30 June 2003, Brussels [Discours du Commissaire Philippe Busquin (pdf)]

Citizen Participation: More than five hundred citizens volunteered in Lisbon to carry the personal exposure measurement devices on 22 October 2002.

PEOPLE in Schools: Project "PEOPLE and Citizenship", promoted by CITIDEP, one of the PEOPLE partners, and supported by the PEOPLE task force in Lisbon, organized several activities with students and teachers:

• 12 June 2003: PEOPLE "role-play" by highschool students from 2 schools, representing and debating different benzine-related stakeholders views.
  
• 18 March 2003: PEOPLE videoconference session with 150 students and professors from elementary schools (Lisbon and Viana do Castelo regions). The session was videobroadcasted via Internet, and many other students from other schools participated via "chat".
  
• 27 January 2003: Highschool students work with younger students from elementary schools, with an environmental game designed by them.
  
• 15 October 2003: took take place a session with 200 students and teachers (112 highschool students), dedicated to the theme "Project PEOPLE and Citizenship", in Lisbon and Viana do Castelo (Portugal), linked through a videoconference. The session was video-broadcasted via Internet.

  [project Information (in portuguese)] [project summary slides (in english)]

Abstract

The PEOPLE project is an assessment of outdoor, indoor and exposure levels of/to air pollutants in European capitals. This project aims to support health impact assessment. An important facet of the project is awareness raising campaigns in participating cities organised with the involvement of citizens, scientists, decision makers and the media. The study will focus on carcinogenic pollutants presenting long term effects on human health. Benzene has been selected as a first indicator to be measured with priority in the pilot phase of the project. This project will also support EC directive 2000/69/EC on air pollution by benzene. The project may be extended to other toxic pollutants in the longer perspective.

At the moment of the entry into force of the new EC directive on air pollution by Benzene (first carcinogenic pollutant regulated by EC air quality directives), the PEOPLE project intends to measure outdoor, indoor and exposure levels of/to Benzene for:

• 1. Preliminary assessment of Benzene levels for the establishment of measurement regimes and in support to monitoring network design;

• 2. Generation of knowledge on the impact of outdoor and indoor emission sources (including smoking) on human exposure to Benzene levels, in support to risk assessment of urban populations in Europe;

• 3. Comparative assessment of the air pollution by Benzene in various European capitals, in function of local conditions (climatic and meteorological conditions, orography), emission sources, population behaviour and air quality management policies;
• 4. Assessment of the impact of air quality policies (air quality and emission directives), local abatement measures and personal behaviour on exposure levels to Benzene;
• 5. Raising the awareness of citizens with regard to air quality in general, and in particular to the impact of personal behaviour (mode of living, mode of transport, smoking habit).
• 6. Validation of pollution exposure models.

The project will assess outdoor, indoor and personal exposure levels in about ten European larger agglomerations in the EU 15 and Candidate countries. Currently the following cities have expressed their interest to be associated in the project: Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Dublin, Krakow, Lisboa, Ljubljana, Madrid, Paris, and Roma. This list is however not definitive. In each of the ten selected cities, the citizens will be invited to participate into the project, through invitations launched by the media. In each city a number of maximum 200 volunteers will be selected, according to very well defined selection criteria. These selection criteria will allow an interpretation of the results in function of the specific activities and behaviour of the volunteers (example: citizens not exposed to direct benzene sources, citizens using a personal car as sole transport means in the city, citizens using public transport, smokers, etc…). Each selected citizen will be provided with a measurement device which will be exposed on their body for 12 hours (personal exposure measurements) during a well specified day of the week. These measurements will be possible thanks to the use of a newly developed diffusive sampler allowing measurements in short periods of time. Measurements will also be performed in a wide range of indoor and outdoor locations around the given city to gain understanding of the level of pollution around the city on the sampling day. After analysis and interpretation, the results will be disseminated through the media, conferences and publications.

The project initially has a pilot phase. For the pilot phase benzene levels will be measured in the cities of Brussels and Lisboa. The sampling day for the pilot phase is October 22^nd 2002. The pilot project may be extended to other cities in the future and also to other pollutants of relevance to long term exposure to air pollutants. The campaigns in the other cities should be conducted in 2003 and 2004.

For carrying out the project, the Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the Joint Research Centre (European Commission) will work with partners in the following fields:

• national/regional air quality authorities
• national/regional public health authorities
• consumer protection associations
• environment protection associations
• media

Press conference before start of campaigns

Press conference for presentation of results

Scientific conferences and workshops

Publication of results in popular and scientific publications

(version 01/08/02)

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Participating Entities
Entity promoting PEOPLE
Organizing Entities (PORTUGAL) [Task Force photos]
	Institute for the Consumer — (IC), Presidency of the Council of Ministers [Lisbon Project Coordination].
	Regional Administration of Environment and Land Use Planning for Lisbon and Tagus Valley (DRAOT-LVT), Ministry of Cities, Land Use Planning and Environment (MCOTA).
	Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (DCEA), College of Science and Technology , New University of Lisbon (FCT-UNL).
	Public Health Regional Center for Lisbon and Tagus Valley, Ministry of Health (CRSP-LVT, MS).
	City Department for Environment and Green Spaces, Lisbon Municipality (DMAEV, CML).
	Quercus — National Association for the Conservation of Nature (QUERCUS).
	Research Center on Information Technology and Participatory Democracy (CITIDEP)

CONTACT: Project PEOPLE (Portugal) - Praça Duque de Saldanha, 31, 1069-013 Lisboa. [351] (21) 356 4677 | http://www.people-pt.net | people@people-pt.net