Support for Public Policy

The Institute’s work results in the design or evaluation of tools and reference methods intended to help better understand, predict, and mitigate the risks caused by human activities that are likely to affect the safety of people, goods, and ecosystems. The Institute also makes its expertise available to aid in the preparation and application of technical regulations.

Ineris’ support programs are grouped into “general subjects” corresponding to the Institute’s primary mission:

•     Evaluating and improving the management of accidental risks in industrial and transport-related activities such as hydraulic systems, and integrating technical, human, and organizational factors.
• Evaluating the impact on, and improving the understanding of, the resistance of structures subject to dangerous phenomena (explosions, fires, dispersion).
•     Evaluating accidental risk associated with products and procedures and proposing remedial measures;
•     Identifying contaminants and sources of pollution in the environment (air, water, soil);
•     Modelling and predicting pollution:  administering and analysing environmental data and the economic efficiency of impact reduction strategies;
•     Evaluating and “localizing” health risks linked to industrial installations (and polluted soils) and promoting clean, sustainable technologies and procedures (including waste treatment);
•     Evaluating the toxicity and ecotoxicity of substances and physical agents. Evaluating and monitoring their impact on life;
•     Evaluating natural and mining risks related to the exploitation of subterranean resources and storage sites. Proposing management measures;
•     Certifying third-party eco-responsible products, procedures, equipment, and innovations.
•    Promoting and providing support for regulations (including institutional actions).

Each of these subjects encompasses multiple programs and specific areas of expertise.
We focus on publishing and disseminating the deliverables from these programs to a range of actors in risk prevention.

Depending on the issue being addressed, these programs are designed to:

• Produce technical manuals or risk evaluation methods;
• Promote best practices in terms of protecting the environment;
• Develop and make use of databases, information portals or online assistance services in the field of environmental risk;
• Make progress in understanding potential dangers using experimental digital modelling;
• Work with other nations, particularly in the EU, to implement benchmarks for identifying relevant technical and regulatory initiatives for managing risks.