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 polluting substances present in the environment and sought to identify the probable sources of exposure - household products, cosmetics, food packaging, etc.

The public body does not pronounce on the health consequences of this pollution, still poorly known, but recalls that some of these products are endocrine disruptors or known or suspected carcinogens.

The desired products are bisphenols (A, S and F), phthalates, parabens, glycol ethers, brominated flame retardants and perfluorinated compounds.

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.

These results are part of the Esteban framework - a study on environmental health, biomonitoring, physical activity and nutrition - a research program launched in 2014 to monitor the health status of the French 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.

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" compared to adults, which can be explained by the fact that they touch and carry more objects to the mouth, they are more exposed to household dusts or that their weight is relatively lower compared to their dietary intake.

This study makes it possible "to establish for the first time reference values ​​of impregnation in the general population", explains Public Health France.

That is to say, it will make it possible to follow the evolution over time of this exposure and to determine if a given group is overexposed to a pollutant compared to the rest of the population.

Two other parts of the study, on exposure to metals and pesticides, will be published later, said Public Health France.

© 2019 AFP