The 2020 Nitrate Report: nitrate levels in the water on farms on the rise again since 2017 More nitrogen and phosphorus have been ending up in the soil on farms since 2015. As a result, nitrate concentrations have been rising since 2017 in leachates and ditch water from those farms.
Improvement of air quality continues In 2019, the calculated concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10) were below the European limit values in almost the whole of the Netherlands. Locally, the limit value for nitrogen dioxide is still being exceeded.
Spread of tick-borne encephalitis virus in the Netherlands Every year about 1.5 million ticks bite someone in the Netherlands, especially between March and October. Most people will not get sick of that.
Population screening programmes temporarily on hold Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the health care capacity in the Netherlands is expected to come under severe pressure in the coming period.
Interim injunction decision Nitrogen In an interim injunction proceeding between Mesdag Zuivelfonds, Stichting Stikstofclaim and RIVM, the court has ruled that RIVM must decide on the availability and disclosure of data before 1 Janua
Exploratory RIVM calculations of nitrogen measures The Dutch government announced its plans for the first steps in tackling the nitrogen deposition issue.
Openness about nitrogen There is concern about the current approach to nitrogen and the proposed measures; these concerns have been expressed in Dutch society as a whole and amongst farmers in particular.
Antimicrobial resistance in the Netherlands is remaining reasonably stable Antimicrobial resistance is increasing on a global level. It is difficult to treat infections caused by resistant bacteria.
Discussion regarding health-based guidance value of PFOA The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a provisional health-based guidance value for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
RIVM measures much higher levels of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarettes Tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide (TNCO) levels measured in accordance with the Canadian Intense (CI) method are at least twice as high as the levels measured in accordance with the prescribed ISO