Umweltbundesamt
According to the 2022 noise mapping, about 17.9 % of the total population was adversely affected by night-time noise.They further showed that 26.3 % of the population was exposed to a noise level of above 55 decibels during the day.The main source of noise is road traffic. Aircraft noise hardly plays a role in the area assessment.Noise that exceeds exposure limits can lead to health problems. read more
Since 2010, the population's PM2.5 exposure above an annual average of 10 µg/m³ (interim target 4 of the new guideline values of the World Health Organisation (WHO) from 2021, equal to the old WHO guideline value from 2005) has decreased significantly in Germany.However, between 2010 and 2021, almost the entire population was exposed to particulate matter levels above the current WHO guideline val... read more
Between 2010 and 2021, the proportion of the population exposed to PM10 concentrations above the WHO guideline value decreased from 90.5 % to 20.3 %.Comprehensive measures to reduce particulate matter pollution in Germany are absolutely essential for health protection.New EU limit values for particulate matter, which are to apply from 2030 as part of the revision of the EU Air Quality Directive, a... read more
Population-weighted particulate matter (PM10) levels in Germany were significantly lower in 2021 than in 2010.In 2021, the population-weighted particulate matter exposure was 13.0 micrograms per cubic meter on average for the year. This is 33 % less than in 2010.The decrease in exposure is due to declining emissions from stationary sources (e.g., power plants, waste incineration plants, domestic f... read more
Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an important tool in environmental medicine to assess and evaluate the level of internal exposure of the general population, population groups and individuals to environmental toxins. read more
The reference value allows the comparison of the exposure of individuals or population groups with the background exposure. Since environmental conditions are changing reference values are checked continuously and are updated if new information becomes available.The reference value for a chemical substance in human biological material (e.g. blood, urine) is derived according to a defined statistic... read more
The Federal Environment Agency decided to conduct a special GerES on children because they must be considered as a risk group for adverse health effects caused by environmental factors read more
The UBA’s motto, For our environment (“Für Mensch und Umwelt”), sums up our mission pretty well, we feel. In this video we give an insight into our work.
