Soil contamination following an industrial accident : towards efficient investigations and assessment

International audienceWhen an industrial accident occurs, e.g. the explosion or the fire of a chemical facility, soil investigations and subsequent risk mitigation generally need to be decided and performed rapidly. This requires specific organisation and tools: Procedures for an immediate and coordinated intervention of relevant actors: industrials, administrations for industrial facilities, emergency and health, local authorities, environmental consultants and laboratories, NGOs. Models and input data on emission, atmospheric transfer and deposition on soil, for an accidental source; investigation plans and adequate soil quality references, guidelines... But the European Seveso legislation, and its application in France and probably in Europe, is focused on the prevention of immediate impacts on health and constructions; and the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) legislation deals with the chronic impacts of operating facilities. Thus, post-accidental impacts of industrial accidents are hardly dealt with, the specific organisation and tools are lacking, and when accidents occur, the industrials and administrations concerned are largely unprepared for managing their delayed impacts, first of them on soils

N° 85. — Interactions interfaciales entre l’acide désoxycholique, le cholestérol et la lécithine

L’interaction interfaciale entre l’acide désoxycholique, le cholestérol et la lécithine a été étudiée par la méthode des films mixtes étalées à l’interface eau/air. De plus, la théorie, élaborée récemment par l’un d’entre nous, permettant de décrire le comportement superficiel d’un mélange de tensides a été appliquée à l’interface solution/phase huileuse (heptane ou tétrachlorure de carbone). Ces expériences faites aux interfaces eau/air et eau/heptane ou tétrachlorure de carbone indiquent si les interactions sont dues aux forces Van der Waals ou non. Il en suit que l’interaction entre les films étalés de la lécithine et l’acide désoxycholique en absence des ions calciques, observée à l’interface eau/air, serait due aux forces de Van der Waals. En présence des ions calciques, pourtant une interaction se manifeste aussi à l’interface eau/phase huileuse indiquant que les ions calciques forment un complexe entre les groupes carboxyliques et phosphorylés. L’interaction entre le cholestérol et l’acide désoxycholique se manifeste aussi bien à l’interface eau/air qu’à l’interface eau/phase huileuse. Il y a aussi un effet de pH, mais le rôle des ions calciques est peu important

Attentats de novembre 2015 à Paris : impact sur les relations parents–enfants et sur les enfants des professionnels et bénévoles mobilisés au secours des victimes

International audienceIntroduction : After the attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis in November 2015, Santé publique France launched the November 2015 Post-Attacks Public Health Survey (ESPA November 13) open to people exposed as well as to professionals and volunteers (first responders) came to the rescue of civilians on the night of the attacks or in the weeks that followed. these victims could be people directly threatened or witnesses. Among the questions of the survey, one of them concerns the effect of the attacks on parent–child relations and on the children. This article discusses the responses of the first responders. Method : Carried out via the Internet, the survey takes place in two phases carried out in 2016 and 2020. It consists of closed-ended and open-ended questions, including the question of interest for this article: “If you have children, can you tell us if you think the experience you had had an effect on them, or on the relationship with them? Can you explain to us?” The answers are analyzed according to a thematic analysis with comparison of the answers collected in 2016 and 2020. Results : Five main themes show that a part of the first responders did not notice any change in their children or in their relationships with their children. For the others, they identify factors of psychic contagion which raise questions about their ability to have been able to protect their children. Parent–child relationships are modified, and some children have developed a strong concern for their parents or even various disorders. Conclusion : The attacks had a psychological impact for some children and modified the parent–child attachment ties (more fusional attachment ties), highlighting a strong feeling of insecurity for both parents and children, at the risk of impeding the process of empowerment of children.Introduction : Après les attentats de Paris et Saint-Denis en novembre 2015, Santé publique France a lancé l’Enquête de Santé publique postattentats de novembre 2015 (ESPA 13 novembre) ouverte aux personnes exposées ainsi qu’aux professionnels et bénévoles (intervenants) venus au secours des civils. Parmi les questions de l’enquête, l’une d’elles porte sur l’effet des attentats sur les relations parents–enfants et sur les enfants. Cet article traite des réponses des intervenants. Méthode : Réalisée par Internet, l’enquête se déroule en deux phases réalisées en 2016 et 2020. Elle se compose de questions fermées et ouvertes dont la question d’intérêt de cet article : « Si vous avez des enfants, pouvez-vous nous dire si vous pensez que l’expérience que vous avez vécue a eu un effet sur eux, ou sur la relation avec eux ? Pouvez-vous nous expliquer ? ». Les réponses sont traitées selon une analyse thématique avec comparaison des réponses recueillies en 2016 et 2020. Résultats : Cinq thèmes principaux apparaissent montrant qu’une partie des intervenants n’ont constaté aucun changement chez leurs enfants ou dans leurs relations avec leurs enfants. Pour les autres, ils identifient des facteurs de contagion psychique qui les interrogent sur leur capacité à avoir su protéger leurs enfants. Les relations parents–enfants sont modifiées et certains enfants ont développé une forte inquiétude pour leurs parents voire des troubles divers. Conclusion : Les attentats ont eu un impact psychique pour certains enfants et ont modifié les liens d’attachements, mettant en avant un fort sentiment d’insécurité des membres de la famille, au risque d’empêcher le processus d’autonomisation des enfants

Épidémiologie du cancer de la thyroïde 30 ans après l’accident de Tchernobyl Fréquence, facteurs de risque et impact des pratiques diagnostiques

National audienceThirty years after the Chernobyl accident, this article presents recent epidemiological knowledge about thyroid cancer. Its incidence has increased over the last 30 years in France and worldwide. Improved diagnostic practices are one of the main explanations of this increase, some authors even consider that it induces a large over-diagnosis. Besides, exposure to ionizing radiation, either external (X or gamma rays) or internal (incorporation of iodine-131), especially in childhood, remains the main known risk factor of this cancer to date. Fallout from the Chernobyl accident has raised much worry in France and Europe, and increasing medical and dental X-ray exposure is a source of concern. Studies on population who were leaving close to the affected area around Chernobyl at the time have provided new information on thyroid cancer epidemiology, especially on the impact of exposure to iodine-131 during childhood. However, studies designed after the Fukushima disaster highlight the difficulty of estimating the impact of a nuclear accident on the incidence of thyroid cancer in a context of potential over-diagnosis. It is important to build a strategy for collecting and providing information to estimate the real impact of a nuclear accident in terms of public health, in the event of such an accident in Europe. © 2016, Institut de Veille Sanitaire. All rights reserved

Épidémiologie du cancer de la thyroïde 30 ans après l’accident de Tchernobyl Fréquence, facteurs de risque et impact des pratiques diagnostiques

National audienceThirty years after the Chernobyl accident, this article presents recent epidemiological knowledge about thyroid cancer. Its incidence has increased over the last 30 years in France and worldwide. Improved diagnostic practices are one of the main explanations of this increase, some authors even consider that it induces a large over-diagnosis. Besides, exposure to ionizing radiation, either external (X or gamma rays) or internal (incorporation of iodine-131), especially in childhood, remains the main known risk factor of this cancer to date. Fallout from the Chernobyl accident has raised much worry in France and Europe, and increasing medical and dental X-ray exposure is a source of concern. Studies on population who were leaving close to the affected area around Chernobyl at the time have provided new information on thyroid cancer epidemiology, especially on the impact of exposure to iodine-131 during childhood. However, studies designed after the Fukushima disaster highlight the difficulty of estimating the impact of a nuclear accident on the incidence of thyroid cancer in a context of potential over-diagnosis. It is important to build a strategy for collecting and providing information to estimate the real impact of a nuclear accident in terms of public health, in the event of such an accident in Europe. © 2016, Institut de Veille Sanitaire. All rights reserved

The 2015 and 2016 terrorist attacks in France: was there a short-term impact on hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease?

Edouard Chatignoux, Amélie Gabet, Elodie Moutengou, Philippe Pirard, Yvon Motreff, Christophe Bonaldi, Valérie Olié Non-Communicable Diseases and Trauma Direction, The French Public Health Agency, Saint-Maurice, France Background: The terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice in 2015 and 2016 generated widespread emotional stress in France. Given that acute emotional stress is a well-known trigger for cardiovascular disease, we investigated whether these attacks had any short-term impact on hospitalizations for acute cardiovascular disease in France. Methods: Annual hospital discharge data from 2009 to 2016 were extracted from the French Hospital Discharge Database. All hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, or stroke were selected. Generalized additive Poisson models were used to differentiate “unusual” variations in daily hospitalization numbers in the 15 days following the attacks from the expected background hospitalization rate. Results: The average daily number of hospitalizations was 396.4 for acute coronary syndrome, 598.6 for heart failure, and 334.6 for stroke. The daily mean number of hospitalizations for heart failure and stroke was higher in the 15 days following each attack compared with the reference periods. However, multivariate analysis showed no significant variation in the risk of hospitalization in the days following the attacks. Interpretation: Watching events unfold on television, no matter how dramatic, was not a sufficiently potent trigger for cardiovascular disease, although it may have led to an increase in hospitalizations for stress or anxiety. The 2015 and 2016 terrorist attacks do not seem to have had any measurable short-term impact on hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease either in the Paris and Nice regions or in the rest of France. Keywords: hospitalization, terrorist attacks, cardiovascular diseas