Beware of burns from false nail glue splashing onto clothes!
The current trend for false nails and the health restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an increase in the use of cyanoacrylate adhesives at home. While direct skin contact with these glues is generally not serious, splashes through clothing can cause severe burns, sometimes even requiring skin grafts.
Monitoring resistance to plant protection products around the world
Scientists from ANSES and INRAE have analysed the systems in place to monitor resistance to plant protection products around the world. Their findings showed that studies on this subject are often engaged by both private and public players, at the same time and in the same country. Given the complementary nature of these approaches, greater cooperation would increase the efficiency of monitoring systems.
Preventing the accidental ingestion of medicinal products for horses
Cases of adverse effects are regularly reported after humans have been accidentally exposed to veterinary medicinal products. Prascend®, intended for horses, is the medicinal product most frequently involved, after antiparasitics. Its mode of administration, generally hidden in food, has led to specific recommendations.
Bisphenol B, an endocrine disruptor for humans and the environment
Some countries outside the European Union use bisphenol B as an alternative to bisphenol A, a substance whose endocrine-disrupting properties are now widely recognised. However, bisphenol B has similar, or even slightly greater, endocrine-disrupting properties. Following the identification of these properties, ANSES is proposing to identify bisphenol B as a substance of very high concern under the European REACh Regulation, like bisphenol A. The purpose of this classification is to prevent the industrial usage of this chemical on the European continent as a replacement for bisphenol A, and to require importers of consumer goods to declare its presence in concentrations exceeding a threshold of 0.1%.
Recommended occupational exposure limits for titanium dioxide nanoparticles
With 17,000 tonnes produced or imported each year in France, titanium dioxide in nanoparticle form or TiO2-NP is one of the most widely used nanomaterials in various industrial sectors. It is therefore a major source of potential exposure in the workplace. Following on from the work carried out for the general population, ANSES is now recommending occupational exposure limits (OELs) to strengthen risk prevention for workers.
Event review – International symposium on "Credibility of scientific expertise and public decision-making"
Increased complexity of health risks in a globalised world, mistrust of the authorities: the contribution of scientific expertise to public decision-making regularly generates high expectations and lively debate. This has once again been demonstrated with the COVID-19 pandemic. ANSES examined these issues in early 2021 at an international scientific symposium focusing on two key questions: What determines whether or not scientific expertise is credible? What factors contribute to the credibility of the knowledge and information mobilised for public decision-making?
A project to understand and model the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in meat processing plants
A number of grouped cases or clusters of COVID-19 have been identified among workers in food processing plants, in France and around the world. A project coordinated by ANSES and funded by the National Research Agency (ANR) is now under way to better understand how the virus circulates in meat processing plants and to suggest appropriate preventive measures.
Launch of a project in Lyon to bring ANSES and the ANSM closer together: their future shared home takes shape
The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) and the French Health Products Safety Agency (ANSM) have decided to combine some of their scientific activities and bring them together under a new roof. The Pargade Architectes firm was chosen to build this new shared home. Entirely dedicated to the "One Health" approach, the new building will combine cutting-edge technological facilities with laboratories ensuring a high level of biosafety in human, animal and plant health. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2024. It will further consolidate the agencies' presence within Lyon's global competitiveness cluster, an ecosystem of excellence devoted to health and infectious diseases that benefits from an internationally renowned scientific community.