Paris (AFP)
Bisphenols, phthalates, solvents, parabens ... A large study published Tuesday shows that six "pollutants of the daily" whose effects are still poorly known "are present in the body of all French", while the government presents its sheet of action against endocrine disruptors.
For the first time, Public Health France measured the levels of impregnation of the French population by six families of substances found in the environment and sought to identify the likely sources of exposure - household products, cosmetics, food packaging, etc.
"We are interested in these substances because there is a health concern, but in no case can we predict whether the values found represent a health risk for the population", because we still lack knowledge on the subject, a specified to AFP Clémence Fillol, responsible for biological surveillance at Public Health France.
The public body recalls, however, that some of these products are endocrine disruptors or known or suspected carcinogens.
The desired substances are bisphenols (A, S and F), phthalates, parabens, glycol ethers, brominated flame retardants and perfluorinated compounds.
They are used in food packaging, paints, kitchen sets, cosmetics and household products. The use of some is already very restraint (bisphenol A, banned in France in all food containers since 2015, some phthalates and perfluorinated compounds).
This publication comes on the occasion of the presentation by the Minister of Ecology Elisabeth Borne and the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn of the new "national strategy on endocrine disruptors" (SNPE). It aims to strengthen the information and protection of the population, as well as the scientific knowledge of these products.
The Health Security Agency (ANSES) will have to establish a list of endocrine disruptors, by appraising at least six substances in 2020, then nine per year from 2021.
The agency has already published a series of opinions on five substances in 2017, including a "possible endocrine disruptive effect" for triclocarban, used as an antibacterial and antifungal.
- "A first step" -
Information on the presence of disrupters in consumer products will be available to the general public at a chemical site to be launched before the end of the year.
The SNPE also aims to strengthen control measures, particularly in the context of European regulations, and promote the search for substitute products.
The results published by Santé Publique France are part of the Esteban framework - a study of health on the environment, biomonitoring, physical activity and nutrition - a research program launched in 2014 to monitor the state of health. health of the population, and in particular its exposure to pollutants.
The measurements were carried out between 2014 and 2016 on a representative sample of the general population, composed of around 1,100 children and 2,500 adults living in mainland France.
For most substances, the levels of impregnation found are "comparable to other studies conducted abroad, especially in the United States and Canada". However, they were lower for parabens and flame retardants.
Participants also answered questionnaires on their lifestyle, which make it possible to make assumptions about the sources of exposure to pollutants.
The results show in particular that "the use of cosmetic and care products increases the levels of impregnation of parabens and glycol ethers" and that "the more the housing is ventilated" frequently "the higher the levels of impregnation" in perfluorinated compounds and brominated flame retardants "are low".
Public Health France also emphasizes that "higher levels of impregnation are found in children", which can be explained by the fact that they touch and carry more objects to the mouth, they are more exposed to household dust or that their weight is relatively lower compared to their food intake.
This "photograph of the exposure of the population" is "an essential first step" to be able to "build health values", thresholds not to exceed, underlines Clémence Fillol.
Two other parts of the study, exposure to metals and pesticides, will be published later.
© 2019 AFP