2012-12-07 15:28:49
The supply of drinking water and sanitation have significantly contributed to the improvement of public health and the expansion of social and economic life. As a result, water, whether intended for food, drinking, domestic use or swimming, is one of the most closely monitored products on the market. Water quality remains a priority concern for citizens and public authorities, particularly with regard to emerging molecules (drug residues, endocrine disruptors, etc.) detected in trace amounts thanks to analytical progress, the increase in vulnerable populations and the appearance of new practices (reuse of treated wastewater, etc.).
The Agency contributes to the protection of public health through its expertise, monitoring and research activities on water which concern:
- water intended for human consumption (EDCH): public water (tap water), packaged water (spring water, natural mineral water and water made drinkable by treatment), water from private wells used for drinking ;
- water used in the food chain (in collaboration with other units of the Agency): drinking water for farm animals, water used in food sector companies (IAA) as an ingredient in food or to clean food;
- recreational water (bathing water and swimming pool water);
- other categories of water whose uses or discharges may present a risk to human health: wastewater, reuse of treated wastewater, desalination of seawater, recovery of rainwater, etc.
To carry out these missions, it relies on:
- the Water Risk Assessment Unit of the Risk Assessment Directorate;
- the collective expertise of the specialized “Water” expert committee and its various working groups;
- scientific and technical support from the Agency’s laboratories and in particular the Nancy hydrology laboratory;
- the other evaluation and methodological support units of the Risk Assessment Directorate;
- The research and monitoring department which, thanks to the call for research projects that it launches each year as part of the Occupational Health and Environment research program, supports research in these areas.
The Agency’s mission is in particular:
- to assess the health risks for humans linked to the presence of micro-organisms (bacteria, protozoa, viruses, yeasts and molds, etc.) or inorganic or organic chemical contaminants of natural and/or anthropogenic origin including disinfection by-products (nitrates, chromium, benzene, human and veterinary drug residues, trihalomethanes, etc.) in water (water resources, EDCH, recreational water, wastewater, etc.) ;
- to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of products and processes for treating water intended for human consumption (membrane processes, ion exchange resins, reactors equipped with ultraviolet radiation lamps used for disinfection, filter media , etc.) and swimming pool water (dechloraminators, etc.) ;
- to evaluate the safety of materials and objects used in fixed installations for the production, treatment and distribution of water intended for human consumption (coatings of nickel and chromium, tin, etc.) ;
- to carry out research related to the water theme (studies of disinfection by-products in drinking water networks, evaluation of the stability of bottled water packaging materials, etc.) ;
- to evaluate the changes in practices that have appeared within the framework of so-called “sustainable development” policies (the installation of renewable energy exploitation devices in the EDCH protection perimeters, the modification of treatment sectors with recirculation filter washing water, reuse of treated wastewater, etc.) and the scarcity of water (desalination of sea water, etc.) ;
- to participate in the development of regulations, standards and technical guides, at national, international and European level.
Furthermore, as a national reference laboratory, the Nancy hydrology laboratory can be contacted by the State in order to remove doubts in the event of non-compliant or contradictory analysis results between different laboratories and to carry out monitoring campaigns. national analyzes of emerging pollutants.
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