Environmental exposure and associated health risks

Health risk assessment aims to prevent and manage, over the long term, the potential risk to a population living near sources of pollution. This assessment contributes to the implementation of proportionate management measures that comply with regulations and are adapted to uses. Ineris develops and implements an approach that integrates monitoring and assessment of the state of the environment and the characterisation of exposures and health risks for different types of sources and environments: planned or operational ICPE facilities, polluted sites and soils, technological accidents, industrialised areas, indoor environments.

Designing tools and methodologies

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INERIS began working on the health and environmental impact of industrial facilities and polluted sites at a very early stage, before broadening its thinking to include a regional approach to risk assessment and specific environments. One of the foundations of this integrative approach is its expertise in assessing population exposure to chemical pollutants, based on measurement results or modelling. 
The Institute develops and provides health and environmental stakeholders with methodological guides tailored to each situation (see "Related documents" links).
INERIS has developed the MODUL'ERS modelling tool to estimate concentrations in the environment, exposure levels and expected health risks associated with chemicals in the environment. This tool allows users to build an exposure model tailored to the context in which they operate, from the simplest to the most complex situations.

Taking action in the field

INERIS provides expertise in the field by applying its skills to:

  • designing appropriate environmental monitoring strategies to track pollutants in different environments (surface water and groundwater, soil and soil gas, ambient air and indoor air, etc.);
  • model the behaviour of pollutants and transfers between different environmental compartments (air, water, soil, plants);
  • providing toxicological expertise.

Reducing environmental inequalities

Taking environmental inequalities into account in public policy requires the development of operational diagnostic tools. The Institute has therefore developed the Environmental Inequality Analysis Platform (PLAINE), which provides an integrated and spatialised representation of exposure and health risks. PLAINE has been implemented to develop a regional atlas of environmental inequalities integrating exposure to several metals through different routes (inhalation, ingestion of water, soil and food) and as part of research projects based on the concept of the exposome. The exposome synthesises environmental contamination, which makes it possible to estimate population exposure (external dose), and biomonitoring (biomarkers) to better reflect the biological reality of doses to organs (internal doses).
INERIS also conducts work on the assembly, processing and interpretation of data on a wide range of environmental pressures and, in this context, has developed an environmental quality indicator for population health (IQUALE) as part of its work for the4thNational Health and Environment Plan.

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