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Public Health

Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER)

The SCHEER, on request of Commission services, provides Opinions on questions concerning health, environmental and emerging risks.

In particular, the Committee provides Opinions on questions concerning emerging or newly identified health and environmental risks and on broad, complex or multidisciplinary issues that require a comprehensive assessment of risks to consumer safety or public health and related issues not covered by other European Union risk assessment bodies.

Examples of areas of activity include potential risks associated with: antimicrobial resistance; new technologies such as nanotechnologies; medical devices including those incorporating substances of animal and/or human origin; tissue engineering; blood products; fertility reduction; physical hazards such as noise and electromagnetic fields; the interaction, synergic effects and cumulative effects of risk factors and methodologies for assessing new risks.

It may also be invited to address risks related to public health determinants and non-transmissible diseases.

The SCHEER shall also provide Opinions on risks related to pollutants in the environmental media and other biological and physical factors or changing physical conditions which may have a negative impact on health and the environment, for example in relation to air quality, water, waste and soil, as well as on life cycle environmental assessment.

Membership

Mandates

The Committee usually produces its reports in response to a specific request.

Opinions and statements

At the end of the risk assessment process, the Committee adopts Opinions. The Committee can also, at its own initiative, publish statements on specific topics.

Opinions in plain language

For some Opinions – of direct relevance to the public – easy to read fact-sheets or web summaries are produced for non-specialists.

Meetings

Procedures

  • Rules of procedure of the Scientific Committees
  • the stakeholder dialogue procedure is set out in Annex IV of that document.

Contact

SANTE-SCHEER AT ec.europa.eu

Former Scientific Committees

Information on former Scientific Committees