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The quality of air inside buildings can be altered by various chemical or microbiological contaminants. Health effects such as respiratory diseases can also result from exposure to indoor air pollutants. The occurrence of these effects depends on the nature of the pollutants, and the intensity and duration of exposure, as well as on genetic determinants, socio-economic factors and other environmental characteristics, which also influence air quality. To address the health issue represented by indoor air quality, ANSES issued an internal request in 2004 to develop indoor air quality guideline values (IAQGs) based on health criteria. The Opinion it is publishing today therefore proposes two IAQGs for acetaldehyde, corresponding to short- and long-term exposure.

The development of antimicrobial resistance is a major concern for human and animal health. This phenomenon calls into question the effectiveness of antimicrobial drugs and may worsen the prognosis of certain infectious diseases, with major consequences for human health. With this in mind, ANSES launched an internal request to conduct an assessment of the risks of emergent antimicrobial resistance phenomena due to patterns of antibiotic use in the veterinary sphere. Its goal is to specify the most appropriate measures to implement in the field of animal health in order to establish an effective antimicrobial resistance control policy. The opinion and expert appraisal report published today provide recommendations for each sector and animal species and will supplement the initiatives currently provided for in the draft law on the future of agriculture and by the Ecoantibio 2017 plan. The recommendations include discontinuing preventive use of antibiotics, reserving latest-generation antibiotics to clearly identified and strictly regulated situations, and giving preference to narrow-spectrum antibiotics.

ANSES was asked in 2009 by the Ministry of Health to identify and characterise exposure situations potentially posing a risk to health and associated with common consumer products and/or items containing certain chemicals classified as Category 2 reproductive toxicants (according to the European CLP regulation) or considered to be endocrine disruptors. Today, ANSES publishes several expert assessment reports and an opinion on five of these substances. The conclusions of the expert assessment reveal evidence of exposure situations that potentially pose a risk for embryonic or foetal development in association with exposure by pregnant women to toluene, n-hexane and cis-CTAC found in certain items or products. ANSES issues recommendations which aim to reduce the exposure of pregnant women to all five of the substances under study, in general and in the workplace in particular. It also is issuing recommendations specific to each of these substances.

Confronted with the wide range of nanomaterials in everyday life and the many questions surrounding them, ANSES today published a review of the available literature on health and environmental issues relating to manufactured nanomaterials. This will help clarify scientific understanding and demonstrate the toxic effects of some nanomaterials on living organisms and the environment. It also emphasisesthe complexity of understanding the various situations to which humans and the environment are exposed, and the limitations of existing risk assessment methodologies. Due to this complexity, it is difficult to assess the specific risks associated with nanomaterials. Given the time it would require, the Agency recommendsthe immediate implementation of tools to improve risk management through a stronger regulatory framework at European level.