Launch of the national exploratory campaign to measure pesticide residues in the air

The establishment of national pesticide residues surveillance at the national level is a priority within the context of the governmental action plan on plant protection products and the national plan for the reduction of air pollutant emissions (PREPA) 2017-2021. In an expert report published in October 2017, pursuant to a request from the ministries of agriculture, ecology, health and labor, Anses made recommendations in relation to both the conduct and procedures relating to the implementation of an exploratory campaign for such surveillance. In light of these recommendations, a partnership was set up between Anses, Ineris and the ATMO France Federation to set up and implement this campaign. This was carried out within the framework of the plant products drug safety system implemented by Anses.

80 active substances analyzed at 50 sampling sites

This one-year exploratory campaign shall include the analysis of about 80 substances, on 50 measuring sites, located in metropolitan France and the overseas departments and regions, for a total of approximately 1,500 samples over the duration of the campaign.
The distribution of sampling sites was chosen in order to take into account the different types of residential areas (52% of urban/semi-urban sites and 48% of rural sites), and different types of agricultural production (40% of broad-acre sites, 22% of wine-growing sites, 22% of arboreal sites, 14% of market gardening sites and 6% for nursery sites). Thus, 1 to 6 sites per region were selected to cover the different types of exposure to pesticides in the air.
Targeted substances are included in plant protection products as well as certain biocides, veterinary medicinal products and anti-parasitic agents for human consumption. They were prioritized by Anses on the basis of their hazardous characteristics and criteria of use, emission and persistence in the air.
To carry out this campaign, a harmonized protocol of measures on the whole national territory, financed by the French Biodiversity Agency (AFB) as a part of its Ecophyto program, was defined on the basis of Anses' recommendations, and metrological validations carried out by Ineris, as part of its work for the Central Laboratory for Air Quality Monitoring (LCSQA), in association with accredited associations for air quality monitoring (AASQA) ATMO Grand Est and Air PACA. Co-financing was also provided by the Ministry of Ecology in relation to sampling systems, required for the campaign.

An Anses/Ineris /ATMO France partnership

On the ground, the AASQA, federated by Atmo France, carries out sampling and provides its territorial expertise to implement the campaign at a local level. Ineris, as coordinator of the campaign, provides technical support for making measurements, manages the analysis of all samples and captures all data with the support of the various partners. Anses, meanwhile, provides scientific support and provides funding for this campaign.
This exploratory campaign, the first of its kind at a national level, shall define the terms of a national long-term strategy for monitoring pesticide residues in ambient air. Captured data shall feed into the "GEOD'AIR" national air quality database and shall enable an initial report on pesticide residue contaminatio levels in the ambient air to be drawn up.
This report shall be necessary to make comparisons with data collected in other focused studies to assess the exposure of populations living near sources of pesticide emissions, including the forthcoming study on local residents’ exposure to pesticides in agricultural areas that will be carried out shortly by Anses and France’s Public Health body.
This work is part of and is financed under the plant products drug safety system set up by Anses in 2015 and whose objective is to monitor any adverse effects of plant protection products.