MOMENTUM at the SETAC Annual Meeting

The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) organised its annual meeting in Vienna last week with contributions from a number of MOMENTUM partners!

Ahead of the main event, Stefan Kools (KWR Water Research Institute) and Bas Coolsma participated in a scientific workshop about microplastics, hosted by Plastics Europe. Kools’ presentation about the MOMENTUM project sparked interest. He highlighted efforts to understand human exposure, toxicity, and develop risk assessment frameworks.

Kools later led a session on how environmental and human standards for chemicals could inform risk assessment of microplastics. Participants discussed emerging data on the impact of plastics in soil and their effects on ecosystems and human cells. The collaborative model of the MOMENTUM project – integrating research with policy, regulation, and industry – was positively received and seen as an example for future initiatives.

At the SETAC conference itself, Federica Nardella (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) presented her research about methods for quantifying micro- and nanoplastics in liver samples. Juliette Legler (Universiteit Utrecht) was part of a special session on bridging the gap between science and regulation. She talked about the challenges and achievements in characterising emerging hazards as well as the challenges in translating scientific results into regulations and legislation.

Great to see so much MOMENTUM presence at this important event!