13/03/2009 Standing Committee
Strasbourg, 13.03.2009 - “An increasing number of scientific studies are showing the links that exist between certain pollutants and given types of illnesses, such as allergies, respiratory disorders, reproductive problems or diseases of the central nervous system,” today said Jean Huss (Luxembourg, SOC), rapporteur of the PACE Committee of the Environment.
“Pollution inside homes and buildings is just as harmful to health as outdoor pollution. Environmental diseases should not be marginalised within health care systems and environmental medicine should be recognised as a full-blown medical discipline”, Mr Huss added. For him, risk assessments must be based solely on scientific criteria and must be shielded from political or economic pressures.
Following the rapporteur’s proposals, the PACE Standing Committee today adopted a recommendation in Paris inviting member states to intensify urgently and substantially the efforts to devise a global policy for preventing chronic diseases associated with the environment.
The Assembly also asked the Committee of Ministers to instruct a committee of experts to elaborate a draft recommendation based on M. Huss’s report.