Limit Values for Air Pollution

At the end of January 2019, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel asked the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina to address the issue of limit values concerning air pollution with nitrogen oxides. The backdrop is the general public discussion on definition and determination of these limit values and on the adequacy of the cost-benefit ratio for health protection. The Leopoldina is following the Federal Chancellor's request and has set up an interdisciplinary working group.

The working group consists of scientists of the following disciplines: medicine, toxicology, biology, chemistry, epidemiology, technical sciences, statistics, economics, law, sociology, transport research, and materials science. They work based on the latest scientific findings on the subject of nitrogen oxides. They examine the methodological quality of the studies the limits refer to and study the data situation and its interpretation. In addition, the working group compares them to health protection regulations and limit values for air pollution in selected other countries.

The Leopoldina prepares statements as part of its science-based policy advice. For this purpose, working groups are established to which Academy members and non-members are appointed. The decisive factor for the appointment is the expertise of the scientists. The working groups operate independently and by definition open-ended. All members act ad personam and not as representatives of any stakeholder group.

The statements identify possible courses of action, which policymakers may then use as a foundation for their evidence-based decisions. The impulses for statements on science-based policy advice usually come from Leopoldina members or committees. However, topics or questions are also submitted from external sources, as in the case of nitrogen oxide limit values.

Spokespersons of the Working Group

Prof. Dr. Jörg Hacker ML, Former President of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina – National Academy of Sciences, Halle (Saale)
Prof. Dr. Martin Lohse ML, Helmholtz‐Gemeinschaft, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Sigmar Wittig ML, Institut für Thermische Strömungsmaschinen, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Karlsruhe

Members of the Working Group

Prof. Dr. Achim Dittler, Institut für Mechanische Verfahrenstechnik und Mechanik, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Karlsruhe
Prof. Dr. Hans Drexler, Institut und Poliklinik für Arbeits-, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen
Prof. Dr. Ottmar Edenhofer ML, Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung (PIK), Potsdam
Prof. Dr. Manfred Hennecke, Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Berlin
Prof. Dr. Barbara Hoffmann, Institut für Arbeits-, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin, Düsseldorf
Prof. Dr. Göran Kauermann, Institut für Statistik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München
Prof. Dr. Katharina Kohse-Höinghaus ML, Fakultät für Chemie, Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld
Prof. Dr. Jean Krutmann ML, Institut für Umweltmedizinische Forschung, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
Prof. Dr. Johannes Lelieveld ML, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Mainz
Prof. Dr. Barbara Lenz, Institut für Verkehrsforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Berlin
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Löwer, Institut für Öffentliches Recht, Universität Bonn, Bonn
Prof. Dr. Jörg Michaelis, Instituts für Medizinische Biometrie, Epidemiologie und Informatik, Universitätsmedizin, Mainz
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Pöschl, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Mainz
Prof. Dr. Ortwin Renn ML, Institut für Transformative Nachhaltigkeitsforschung (IASS), Potsdam
Prof. Dr. Norbert Suttorp ML, Medizinische Klinik mit Schwerpunkt Infektiologie und Pneumologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Erika von Mutius ML, Institut für Asthma und Allergieprävention (IAP), Helmholtz-Zentrum München, München
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wolfrum, Physikalisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg