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Relationships between transportation noise and the level of annoyance attributed to a certain noise source are well established in adults. Little is known about the noise annoyance in children. The authors assessed the reported annoyance due to different noise sources of 8- to 14-year-old children in a representative population and compared the results with existing data on adults. The primary focus was on road traffic noise because of its pervasiveness. From all over Germany, 1,048 children were randomly selected. They completed a questionnaire regarding living conditions, including noise annoyance from different noise sources such as road traffic noise. The percentage of children's homes located on busy roads was 16.5%, and approximately half of the children (47.7%) had their bedroom facing the street. Among the 8- to 10-year-olds, 7.3% were annoyed by road traffic noise during daytime ("yes" on a dichotomous annoyance scale). Among the 11- to 14-year-olds, 16.4% were at least "slightly" annoyed by road traffic noise during daytime (sum of the upper four categories of a 5-point annoyance scale). Compared with regularly reported representative data on adults, the relative frequency of children annoyed by road traffic noise at home was considerably lower.

"Advancing the New European Bauhaus: Sustainable Mobility and Resilient Urban Spaces for a Better Quality of Life (AdNEB)" is an UBA in-house research project that aims to develop recommendations for urban spaces. These recommendations will promote healthy, climate and environmentally friendly, high quality living for all, despite climate change.

The European Commission's New European Bauhaus initiative sets out to answer the question of where and how we should live in the future to achieve an ecologically sustainable, socially inclusive, as well as healthy and attractive development of urban areas. Today's cities are confronted with the need to simultaneously adapt to climate change, design attractive urban blue-green infrastructures and implement the urban mobility transition. The in-house research project of the German Environment Agency 'Advancing the New European Bauhaus: Sustainable Mobility and Resilient Urban Spaces for a Better Quality of Life – (AdNEB)' aims to provide a conceptual, methodical and interdisciplinary contribution to the vision of the New European Bauhaus. AdNEB will address urgent challenges of the urban environment and propose and discuss integrated solutions.

This brochure is a summary of the conference for European Environmental Specimen Banks in Berlin, 21-22 June 2010. The conference was organised by the German Federeal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the German Environment Agency and the Norman Network.

To further prevent and reduce the pollution of air, water, and soil and to safeguard human health and well-being, the European regulatory framework needs to be improved to include a cross-regulatory approach. This scientific opinion paper presents such an approach for the systemic protection of air, water, soil and human health – the Zero Pollution Ambition Cycle developed by the German Environment Agency (⁠UBA⁠). The implementation of the measures announced by the European Commission within the EU Action Plan 'Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil' published in May 2021 is an excellent opportunity for the different stakeholders for further developing and applying this integrated approach.

Die Umweltprobenbank des Bundes (UPB) ist ein Archiv. Proben des Menschen und der Umwelt lagern dort bei sehr tiefen Temperaturen. Mit den regelmäßig gesammelten Proben können wir den Zustand unserer Umwelt dokumentieren und beobachten, wie sich die Belastung durch natürliche und anthropogene (Schad)Stoffe mit der Zeit verändert. Die Proben der UPB werden so gewonnen, transportiert, aufgearbeitet und gelagert, dass ihre biologische und chemische Information auch über lange Zeiträume konstant bleibt. Auf diese Weise machen es Umweltprobenbanken möglich, dass wir aktuelle Proben mit Archivmaterial vergleichen können, das vor Jahrzehnten gesammelt und eingelagert wurde.

The production and use of the plasticisers Hexamoll(R) DINCH (di-(iso-nonyl)-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate) and DPHP (di-(2-propylheptyl) phthalate) have increased after both chemicals were introduced into the market in the early 2000s as substitutes for restricted high molecular weight phthalates. During the population representative German Environmental Survey (GerES) of Children and Adolescents (GerES V, 2014–2017), we collected urine samples and measured the concentrations of DINCH and DPHP metabolites in 2228 and in a subsample of 516 participants, respectively. We detected DINCH and DPHP metabolites in 100% and 62% of the 3-17 years old children and adolescents, respectively. Geometric means of DINCH metabolites were 2.27 μg/L for OH-MINCH, 0.93 μg/L for oxo-MINCH, 1.14 μg/L for cx-MINCH and 3.47 μg/L for DINCH (Σ of OH-MINCH + cx-MINCH). Geometric means of DPHP metabolites were 0.30 μg/L for OH-MPHP, 0.32 µg/L for oxo-MPHP and 0.64 μg/L for DPHP (Σ of OH-MPHP + oxo-MPHP). The 3-5 years old children had almost 3-fold higher DINCH biomarkers levels than adolescents (14-17 years). Higher concentrations of DPHP biomarkers among young children only became apparent after creatinine adjustment. Urinary levels of DINCH but not of DPHP biomarkers were associated with the levels of the respective plasticisers in house dust. When compared to HBM health-based guidance values, we observed no exceedance of the HBM-I value of 1 mg/L for DPHP (Σ of OH-MPHP + oxo-MPHP). However, 0.04% of the children exceeded the health based guidance value HBM-I of 3 mg/L for DINCH (Σ of OH-MINCH + cx-MINCH). This finding shows that even a less toxic replacement of restricted chemicals can reach exposures in some individuals, at which, according to current knowledge, health impacts cannot be excluded with sufficient certainty. In conclusion, we provide representative data on DINCH and DPHP exposure of children and adolescents in Germany. Further surveillance is warranted to assess the substitution process of plasticisers, and to advise exposure reduction measures, especially for highly exposed children and adolescents. Providing the results to the European HBM Initiative HBM4EU will support risk assessment and risk management not only in Germany but also in Europe.

During the population representative German Environmental Survey of Children and Adolescents (GerES V, 2014-2017) 2256 first-morning void urine samples from 3 to 17 years old children and adolescents were analysed for 21 metabolites of 11 different phthalates (di-methyl phthalate (DMP), di-ethyl phthalate (DEP), butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP), di-iso-butyl phthalate (DiBP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), di-cyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), di-n-pentyl phthalate (DnPeP), di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-iso-nonyl phthalate (DiNP), di-iso-decyl phthalate (DiDP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP)). Metabolites of DMP, DEP, BBzP, DiBP, DnBP, DEHP, DiNP and DiDP were found in 97%-100% of the participants, DCHP and DnPeP in 6%, and DnOP in none of the urine samples. Geometric means (GM) were highest for metabolites of DiBP (MiBP: 26.1 μg/L), DEP (MEP: 25.8 μg/L), DnBP (MnBP: 20.9 μg/L), and DEHP (cx-MEPP: 11.9 μg/L). For all phthalates but DEP, GMs were consistently higher in the 3–5 years old children than in the 14-17 years old adolescents. For DEHP, the age differences were most pronounced. All detectable phthalate biomarker concentrations were positively associated with the levels of the respective phthalate in house dust. In GerES V we found considerably lower phthalate biomarker levels than in the preceding GerES IV (2003–2006). GMs of biomarker levels in GerES V were only 18% (BBzP), 23% (MnBP), 23% (DEHP), 29% (MiBP) and 57% (DiNP) of those measured a decade earlier in GerES IV. However, some children and adolescents still exceeded health-based guidance values in the current GerES V. 0.38% of the participants had levels of DnBP, 0.08% levels of DEHP and 0.007% levels of DiNP which were higher than the respective health-based guidance values. Accordingly, for these persons an impact on health cannot be excluded with sufficient certainty.
The ongoing and substantial exposure of vulnerable children and adolescents to many phthalates confirms the need of a continued monitoring of established phthalates, whether regulated or not, as well as of potential substitutes. With this biomonitoring approach we provide a picture of current individual and cumulative exposure developments and body burdens to phthalates, thus providing support for timely and effective chemicals policies and legislation.