More than 21,000 households of amateur anglers and 26 households of professional anglers from around the six sites were contacted by telephone.įurther to this initial contact, 5793 households fulfilling the criteria for participation in the study, i.e. Study participants were recruited from the population of amateur and professional anglers active at the investigation sites and included members of their households. Six investigation sites were identified along the Somme, the Seine, the Rhone, the Rhine / Moselle, the Loire and the Garonne, representing approximately 900 km of waterways in 18 départements.Īfter the preparatory phase which began in the spring of 2008, the study was launched in the field in April 2009. The study protocol was validated and followed-up by the Ile-de-France IX (Créteil Henri Mondor) Ethics Committee and by the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL), providing the regulatory approvals required for conduct of this type of biomedical research.
ANSES was also assisted by the French National Fishing Federation (FNPF) and by the National Committee on Professional Freshwater Fishing (CONAPPED) which agreed to provide contact information for their members. The study was funded entirely by the Ministry of Health. The study also aimed to determine acceptable frequencies for consumption of these fish, which ensure an absence of long-term health risks to humans.ĪNSES was the principal investigator in the study, conducted in collaboration with the InVS. The main objective of this study was to identify the primary determinants of exposure to PCBs and specifically to assess whether there is a link between the consumption of freshwater fish known to be strong bioaccumulators of PCBs and individual contamination, taking into account other contamination factors such as socio-demographic or diet considerations. In 2008, further to these results and as part of the national action plan on PCBs, the French Ministry of Health requested that ANSES undertake a study on PCB contamination based on blood concentrations in consumers of freshwater fish. In France, like in other European countries, these values have been found to be exceeded in freshwater fish in many waterways. For example in 2006, the European Commission established maximum content values for dioxin-like PCBs that are not to be exceeded in commercially available fish. An assessment carried out by the Agency on food-related exposure of the French population to PCBs in 2007 showed that the health-based guidance value (Tolerable Daily Intake - TDI) was exceeded in children and adults most exposed to these substances, specifically in subjects who consume large quantities of fish.Īt the European and international levels, measures have been taken to reduce exposure of the population to PCBs.
In the general population, exposure to PCBs mainly occurs through food consumption. Rationale underlying the contamination study
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