Int. J. Hyg. Environ.-Health 210 (2007) 253–257 Identifying opportunities and gaps for establishing an integrated EDR-triad at a European level R. Smolders à , G. Schoeters Environmental Toxicology Department, VITO, Boeretang 200, 2500 Mol, Belgium Abstract It is the explicit objective of the ESBIO project (Expert team to Support BIOmonitoring in Europe) to develop a harmonized and integrated human biomonitoring (HBM) framework within the EU, and to elaborate how HBM can be integrated most efficiently with environmental monitoring and registered health data. Work package 3 of the ESBIO projects aims at developing scenarios for linking biomonitoring data to available data on environmental exposure and population health. Although it is recognized that there is a wide variety of data available, it is often difficult to integrate these different data layers because of differences in database structures, geographical detail and spatial distribution, or most importantly because the data simply were not meant to be interpreted in the context of integrated human risk assessment. This paper briefly explores the available information on Europe-wide environmental quality and health data that could be used in cooperation with HBM. Because ESBIO focuses on the whole of Europe, but also needs opportunities for further refinement on a more detailed local scale, the applicability of geographical information systems (GIS) in environmental health, HBM and human health assessments were highlighted. It was concluded that there is an abundance of information on the presence and behavior of pollutants in the environment for some compartments (e.g., ambient air), while for other compartments, measurements are more difficult to gather, and/ or no clearly defined geographically explicit networks appear to be in place. r 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. Keywords: ESBIO; Integration; GIS; Environmental data; Human health data Introduction In 2004, the European Commission formulated its desire to give the EU the scientifically based information needed to reduce the adverse impact of environmental factors for all Member States, and to promote better cooperation between actors in the fields of environment, health and research (European Commission, 2004a). This ‘‘European Environmental Health Action Plan 2004–2010’’ identifies 13 specific actions, with a focus on:  Improving the information chain by developing integrated environment and health information (ac- tions 1–4);  Filling the knowledge gap by strengthening research and addressing the emerging issues on environment and health (actions 5–8);  Reviewing policies and improving communication (actions 9–13). It is the explicit objective of the ESBIO project (Expert team to Support BIOmonitoring in Europe) to develop a coordinated, holistic and integrated human biomonitoring (HBM) framework within the European ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.de/ijheh 1438-4639/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2007.01.002 à Corresponding author. Tel.:+32 14 336 216; fax:+32 14 582 657. E-mail address: roel.smolders@vito.be (R. Smolders).