Use and storage of pesticides at home in France (the Pesti'home survey 2014).

Some epidemiological studies have raised health concerns following the chronic exposure of pregnant women and children to pesticides in the domestic environment. In France very little is known about potential exposure to pesticides at home. An observational study called Pesti'home was carried out in continental France between July and November 2014.

Aggregate exposure of the adult French population to pyrethroids.

The French Nutrition and Health Survey (ENNS) reported higher biomarker levels of exposure to pyrethroids than those observed in North American and German biomonitoring studies. The authors therefore investigated aggregate exposure to permethrin as an initial case study because this compound is one of the most widely-used pyrethroid insecticides. We assessed several contamination sources-such as indoor and outdoor air, settled dust and diet-and several pathways, including oral, inhalation and dermal routes.

Environmental Exposure of the Adult French Population to Permethrin.

This work aims to assess the exposure to permethrin of the adult French population from available contamination measurements of outdoor air, indoor air, and settled dust. Priority is given to the assessment of chronic exposure, given the potential of permethrin to induce cancers and/or endocrine disorders. A statistical method was devised to calculate exposure to permethrin by different pathways (inhalation, indirect dust ingestion, and dermal contact).

Polychlorobiphenyls in freshwater fish: a new strategy to set maximum contamination limits.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants accumulating along the food chain, and particularly in fish. Consequently, the European Commission has set regulatory limits for PCBs in both sea- and freshwater fish. Focusing on freshwater fish, the French Agency for Food Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety has developed a method to determine the areas in France where the consumption of locally caught freshwater fish is not recommended due to PCB contamination.