DEBATE CAFÉ
 

Environmental and Health Impact of Polluting Industries in Border Regions
 

MON 22 JANUARY, 20:00

Dominicanen Bookstore, Dominicanerkerkstraat 1

Prof. Maria Janssen
Endowed Professor of population focused health policy, UM
Bernard Vrijens
Board member Goed leven in de Jekervallei, Eben Emael

Other panelist will be announced on our website.

More and more often, we read about the influence of industries on the environment and health. People who live in the immediate vicinity of factories often notice it immediately, but it can often take a very long time before other people and the government become aware of the impact of pollution and nuisance. In the Netherlands, for example, we had cases in recent years involving Tata Steel in IJmuiden and Chemours in Dordrecht, where the pollution was allowed to continue for years and the possible measures were taken too late (if at all).

Students from the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML) have been researching the impact on our health and environment of the cement production of the Heidelberg Cement Group (CBR) just across the border in Lixhe. They will present their results and discuss them with a panel. How can we measure the pollution and impact, what can we conclude and how can we take measures to improve our own health and that of our environment across borders?