The 2025 SOLACE report presents a framework with four key objectives:

1. Understanding Soil Pollution in EU Soils: The SOLACE project investigates the link between soil pollution and cancer using statistical analyses and GIS, identifying industrial activities, urbanization, agriculture, and military operations as primary causes. It evaluates urban soil threats, assesses heavy metal concentrations using the LUCAS topsoil survey, and models arsenic contamination, highlighting high-risk areas.
2. Analysing Associations Between Soil Pollution and Cancer Outcomes: A comprehensive literature review uncovers gaps in knowledge about the soil pollution-cancer link. An ecological study across 26 EU countries reveals associations between regional lung cancer mortality rates and soil pollution with arsenic and cadmium, identifying the most polluted regions and correlating them with higher lung cancer rates.
3. Enhancing the Zero Pollution Action Plan Clean Soil Outlook: The project develops a model to evaluate the impact of soil pollutants on human health, incorporating crop and pollutant maps, and reviewing the current plan to identify pollutant pathways into the food chain.
4. Revising the Sewage Sludge Directive: This objective evaluates the impact of sewage sludge on soil and human health, using GIS to manage updated soil conditions and estimate risks from pollutant loads in the food chain.

The SOLACE project emphasizes the need for continued investment in research, monitoring, and policy development to address the complex issues surrounding soil pollution and its impact on human health. The achievements of the SOLACE project support the goals of the JRC by contributing to soil-related directives like the Soil Monitoring Law and the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

For a comprehensive look at these findings and recommendations, be sure to read the full report here.