News

ANSES is today broadening its sphere of competence by taking over management of marketing authorisations (MAs) for biocidal products and responsibility for declarations to the biocidal products inventory (SIMMBAD). The Agency will build on the organisation it set up in July 2015 to issue marketing authorisations for plant protection products, while taking account of the specific features of the European regulation governing biocidal products. This regulation, applicable since 2013, seeks to ensure a high level of protection for humans, animals and the environment. In gaining these new missions, the Agency strengthens the integrative approach it has adopted in the area of chemical risk, with the aim of safeguarding consumers and the environment.

ANSES is publishing an expert appraisal on the specific exposures and health risks to which sewer workers are subjected. On the basis of a thorough analysis of the scientific literature highlighting exposure to multiple chemical and biological agents, including carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic compounds, present in the untreated wastewater and atmosphere of the sewers, ANSES concludes that there are long-term health effects associated with working conditions in sewers. In the opinion and report it is publishing today, ANSES issues a series of recommendations on prevention on measures to be implemented for protecting and monitoring the health and exposure of sewer workers, as well as on additional research to be conducted. The Agency may formulate further recommendations when all the results from a campaign still in progress to measure biological agents in the air of the Paris sewers are available.

In France, more than 95% of catchment systems for the production of water intended for human consumption use groundwater. With climate change, the increasing frequency and intensity of weather events such as droughts or intense rainfall will affect water resources. This change is prompting concerns about an increase in deficient areas and longer periods of water shortages. Locally and/or periodically, deficits in natural recharge can already be observed, leading most often to recommendations on management of the resource encouraging water savings. Artificial groundwater recharge is one of the possible solutions for sustainably managing these resources and meeting the objectives for a good quantitative and qualitative status for groundwater, as defined in European Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, known as the Water Framework Directive.In this context, the Agency issued an internal request to study the health risks associated with artificial recharge of groundwater. In the opinion it is publishing today, it considers that artificial groundwater recharge using surface water or treated wastewater is one of the solutions that could be used, under certain conditions, to counter the decrease in groundwater resources. It emphasises the importance of preserving the quality of water resources in the long term, specifically to guarantee quality compatible with production of water intended for human consumption.