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Environnement, Risques & Santé

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Construction of an integrated workstation for mapping population exposure to chemical substances in the environment Volume 10, issue 3, Mai-Juin 2011

Authors
Ineris-ISAE Parc Technologique Alata BP 2 60550 Verneuil-en-Halatte France, Université technologique de Compiègne (UTC) UMR CNRS 6599 Heudiasyc Centre de recherches de Royallieu BP 20529 60205 Compiègne cedex France

Analysis of the association between the environment and health has become a major public health concern, as shown by the development of two national environmental health plans. For such an analysis, policy-makers need tools to identify the geographic areas where overexposure to toxic agents may be observed. The objective of the SIGFRIED 1 project is to build a work station for spatial modeling of the exposure of the French population to chemical substances and for identifying the determinants of this exposure. Probabilistic multimedia modeling is used to assess exposure. The epistemological problems associated with the absence of data are overcome by the implementation of tools that apply spatial analysis techniques. An example is furnished for the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardie, for cadmium, nickel and lead exposure. The calculation of exposure is performed for duration of 70 years on the basis of data collected around 2004 for a grid of squares 1 km in length. For example, for Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the indicators allow us to define two areas for cadmium and three for lead. They are linked to the region's industrial history: mining basin, metallurgy activities, and the Lille metropolitan area. The contribution of various exposure pathways varied substantially from one pollutant to another. The exposure maps thus obtained allow us to identify the geographic area where environmental studies must be conducted in priority. The GIS thus constructed is the foundation of a workstation where source emission data, environmental exposure measurements, and finally health and socioeconomic measurements can be combined.