CHAPTER 1:Overview of Alerting, Assessing and Responding to Chemical Public Health Threats

There are national, European and international information platforms to assist with the notification of new or potential chemical health threats and subsequent exposures. In 2013, the European Parliament and the Council of European Union adopted legislation to improve the co-ordinated response to cross-border health threats (Decision 1082/2013/EU) and thereby strengthen the capacity of Member States to coordinate the public health response to cross-border threats, whether from biological, chemical or environmental events or those which have an unknown origin. This Decision also aims to improve mechanisms for the notification, ad hoc monitoring and coordination of public health measures following such serious cross-border threats to health. The EU Decision is similar to the International Health Regulations (IHR) in that it requires a multidisciplinary approach to deal with events with potentially serious cross-border effects involving multiple hazards. This chapter provides an overview of the main reporting tools and systems available to deal with cross-border chemical threats in the European Union and in other international organisations. This chapter also covers relevant legislation that has been successfully implemented in Europe to enable a more timely coordinated response and greater awareness of events in Europe, thereby reducing the public health impact from chemical exposures.