The National Environment-Health-Occupational Research Program (PNR EST), led by ANSES, supports research work to develop the scientific knowledge essential for risk assessment and health expertise in support of public policies.
To do this, two calls for projects are launched each year, which relate to all the environmental risk factors for human health in general or in the workplace. They also cover risks to ecosystems and the quality of environments. The projects funded make it possible to advance research and knowledge on these key issues by taking into account the emergence of new risks linked to the development of new technologies, changes in consumption or work patterns or even changes in our environment, like climate change for example.
The first call for projects, generalist, aims to develop research on several themes related to health-environment and health-work:
- physical agents (noise nuisance, non-ionizing radiation, light pollution);
- nanomaterials and mineral fibres;
- cancer risks related to environmental and occupational exposures;
- chemical agents including plant protection products;
- endocrine disruptors;
- human and social science approaches to health and environmental risks;
- biological agents;
- emerging contaminations such as microplastics;
- waste;
- air quality;
- climate change ;
- vectors and vector control, primarily in the fields of animal health and plant health.
The second call for projects is dedicated to the theme “Radiofrequencies and health”, which is the subject of particular attention given the need to strengthen knowledge on this subject and to expand the scientific community interested in it. This call for projects focuses on four themes:
- research into mechanisms of action of radiofrequencies at the cellular level;
- research into the physiological or health effects of radiofrequencies;
- electromagnetic hypersensitivity;
- characterization of exposures.
These projects are funded by ANSES from budgets delegated by the ministries responsible for the environment, agriculture and labor, and by several co-financiers: the Agency for the Environment and Energy (ADEME) and the Multi-Organization Cancer Thematic Institute (ITMO Cancer) of the AVIESAN alliance as well as the Ecophyto plan.
The two calls for projects are addressed to the entire scientific community. The selection is made in several stages, on the basis of a letter of intent then a complete file. The selection involves two committees made up, for one, of researchers in charge of the scientific evaluation and selection of the projects, for the other of the funders, ministries concerned and other actors of the perimeter, which draws up the list of projects. to be financed among those selected by the scientific committee.
