1. Task Force on Health Activities 2011 Michal Krzyzanowski TFH Chair Head, Bonn Office European Centre for Environment and Health WHO Regional Office for Europe

2. TFH for 30 th Session of WGE 27-29 Sept 2011 Task Force on Health – Agenda of the 14 th Meeting, Bonn, 12-13 May 2011 1.Review of the progress in research on health impacts of particulate matter and ozone 2.Assessment of effects on human health of black carbon as a component of PM2.5 3.Feasibility study of the assessment of health impacts of PM and health benefit analysis of PM reduction in EECCA countries 4.Review of methods of communication on the health significance of air quality and assessment of feasibility for harmonization of the information 5.Work plan of TFH

3. TFH for 30 th Session of WGE 27-29 Sept 2011 14 th TFH Meeting, Bonn, 12-13 May 2011 – participating countries / parties Albania Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Ireland Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Netherlands Norway Poland Russian Federation Sweden Switzerland The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom United States of America (phone) European Commission + experts (incl IIASA), WHO and observers

4. TFH for 30 th Session of WGE 27-29 Sept 2011 Task Force on Health – Agenda of the 14 th Meeting, Bonn, 12-13 May 2011 1.Review of the progress in research on health impacts of particulate matter and ozone 2.Assessment of effects on human health of black carbon as a component of PM2.5 3.Feasibility study of the assessment of health impacts of PM and health benefit analysis of PM reduction in EECCA countries 4.Review of methods of communication on the health significance of air quality and assessment of feasibility for harmonization of the information 5.Work plan of TFH

5. TFH for 30 th Session of WGE 27-29 Sept 2011 Health impact assessment of air pollution and cost-benefit analysis in EECCA countries Progress in data availability in a few countries only Expertise and modern methodology is insufficient Expertise needs to be developed by local investment in human and institutional resources Involvement of EECCA experts / institutions in internationally coordinated projects essential for knowledge transfer.

6. TFH for 30 th Session of WGE 27-29 Sept 2011 Review on information on health effects of air pollution Review of 26 web sites from 17 countries + 2 sites covering several countries Focus: availability of health-relevant information to policy makers NGOs and general public

7. TFH for 30 th Session of WGE 27-29 Sept 2011 Review on information on health effects of air pollution The principles used by the publishers of the information to define air quality vary substantially; Different sets of pollutants are addressed; Index of pollution defined differently by various countries; The borders of categories and the adjectives used to describe air quality different; Health related information is available on half of the reviewed web sites but vary considerably between the sites, potentially sending contradictory messages.

8. TFH for 30 th Session of WGE 27-29 Sept 2011 Review on information on health effects of air pollution – TFH conclusions Different way of AQ info presentation might be justified; Harmonized definition of the “scale” of the health effects appearing on various air pollution levels and combination of pollutants would be helpful; The scale should address health effects of various seriousness; Role of communication on public contribution to the AQ improvement plans.

9. TFH for 30 th Session of WGE 27-29 Sept 2011 TFH Work Plan 2012-13 Update of evidence on health impacts of ozone and PM (including black carbon) Update of methods for quantification of health burden of air pollution Harmonization of “scales” facilitating communication on air pollution health effects