About me
I graduated as an ecotoxicologist in 1986 at the Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht. Thereafter, I worked for 18 years in the field of chemical risk assessment and management for governmental organisations like the National Insitute of Public Health (RIVM) and the OECD and for consultancy, being involved in industrial chemicals, biocides and plant protection products as well as methodological development. In 2004 I moved to the European Chemicals Bureau (ECB) in Ispra, Italy to assist the European Commission in their preparatory activities for REACH. At the same time I started working on biocides at the ECB: first by chairing – parts of – the Technical Meetings, later by being responsible for the whole sector. In the second half of 2010 I started working at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki to prepare for the tasks under the Biocidal Products Directive (BPD) to be moved from the ECB to the Agency under the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR). In September 2012 I became chair of the Biocidal Products Committee (BPC). After setting up this scientific committee I have chaired 47 meetings adopting almost 400 opinions under all processes within the remit of the BPC.
I left ECHA in July 2023 and now started my own consultancy in the field of biocides, specialised in the Biocidal Products Regulation.
List of publications and lectures