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SOLACE – Understanding the links between SOiL pollution and CancEr
SOLACE – Understanding the links between SOiL pollution and CancEr
Soil pollution is a major environmental and health concern in Europe, with potential links to cancer. The SOLACE research project aimed to explore the complex relationships between soil properties, pollution, land use, and human health. This project, which is part of the Joint Research Centre's (JRC) strategic scientific development, provides a foundation for further research and policy development.
The 2025 SOLACE report presents a framework with four key objectives:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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Environmental contamination by veterinary antibiotics enhancing bacteria resistance requires urgent
The widespread use of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine has introduced new contaminants into our environment. This study delves into how veterinary antibiotics enter ecosystems and their potential impacts, particularly the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is considered as a major health threat by the EU.
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Understanding PFAS movement in unsaturated soil: The impact of plant water uptake and soil organic c
A recent study by Biesek et al. provides new insights via numerical simulations into how the root zone of plants and the distribution of organic carbon in the soil affect PFAS movement. The study investigated the effects of soil organic carbon (SOC) distribution and water uptake by plant roots on PFAS movement in the vadose zone under temperate, humid climate conditions.
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Phosphate-enabled mechanochemical PFAS destruction for fluoride reuse
PFAS persistence in the environment has led to widespread contamination, affecting our drinking water, food, and air. PFAS removal from the environment remains a challenge. Current PFAS degradation methods include chemical- and photochemical-initiated oxidation and reductions processes, mechanical and base-assisted destruction and incineration, all of which produce fluorine waste. In this study, researchers developed a new technique to breakdown PFAS, whereby it not only breaks down these harmful chemicals but also recycles valuable fluorine, turning an environmental challenge into a sustainable solution.
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Farmers' health at risk from large cocktail of agricultural poisons
Proportionally high levels of pesticides are found in the blood of Dutch farmers, and house dust on farms contains a large amount of agricultural toxins. As European standards do not take into account overall health effects of simultaneous exposure to multiple agents, researchers fear numerous diseases.
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Growing number of studies detect antibiotics, medicines and caffeine in groundwater
Issue 596 from the News Alert Service of the European Commission draws the attention to research showing that commonly used chemicals all enter the environment. Levels in groundwater across the world highlight the need to assess the risk posed by these substances.
