Air pollution: particulate matter in question
As Ademe and the French Ministry of Ecology publish rather mixed results on air quality, the question of particle emissions is becoming more and more important. Responsible for more than 30 premature deaths in France according to the WHO, they have become a “major health issue” but which we are just beginning to take into account.
Fine particles released into the air are responsible for 32 premature deaths in France, according to the World Health Organization. The figure is not new: it dates from 000. And yet, the subject of particles is "a subject that we discover. We are at the very beginning of the work, ”admits the Secretary of State for Ecology, Chantal Jouanno, during a presentation on air quality. Knowledge about these substances of less than 2000 micrometers inhalable in the air is indeed still in the early stages. But given the magnitude of their health impact, studies and action plans are increasing.
Today, we know that particles in the air are one of the main air pollutants and that they can contain toxic products such as metals or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which are considered carcinogenic. However, less is known about their sources and the health impact of each of these chemical components. According to CITEPA * 2007 data, fine particles (PM 10) are emitted by several factors: residential-tertiary (25%), industrial combustion (30%), agriculture (30%) or road transport ( 11%) among others. But to better understand them and, ultimately, to reduce this type of pollution and their health impact, a vast measurement campaign was launched in early July in Ile-de-France, "chosen as a field of study because of the high density of its population, its relatively large load of pollutants and its representative geographic location in temperate latitudes ”. Conducted by two independent laboratories from INSU-CNRS as part of the European Megapoli project, it should therefore make it possible to quantify and qualify the sources of particles, in particular those "very fine" (PM 2,5) which are also the most dangerous.
Exceeding regular standards
According to the report on air quality, 2008 was characterized by a slight decrease in PM10 compared to 2007 "which had experienced a very high number of limit exceedances". However, the first data collected in the first half of 2009 suggests that the year could again be marked by numerous overruns. For PM10 for example, two episodes could be observed over a large part of January (very cold therefore with a high consumption of domestic heating in particular) with concentrations up to 4 times the daily limit value! Certainly, according to a recent opinion from Afsset, "in our regions, the preponderant health impact is due to repeated exposures at repeated levels and not to a few peaks" but above all, "it is not possible to observe a particle concentration threshold below which no effect would be noted. "
The particles are thus responsible for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. According to the WHO, the “very fine” would reduce the average life expectancy of the French by 9.3 months in France. And, faced with the risk, the entire population is not housed in the same boat; children, pregnant women and the elderly are the most affected, but certain areas are also more affected than others. The North, the Rhône corridor or the Ile-de-France were thus the regions most exposed to exceeding regulatory standards. And it is mainly the poor who are most affected; those living near traffic sites or industrial sites in particular. Suffice to say that "particles are a subject of social justice and a major health issue", as Chantale Jouanno recalls.
The tracks of the particle plane
The particle plan (still under development) is articulated around 4 axes:
-the domestic sector: incentive to renew the most polluting wood-burning appliances and boilers through information, stricter regulations and financial assistance such as tax credits.
- the industrial and residential tertiary sector of the collective type: definition of stricter emission standards for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide
-transportation: establishment of 5 to 10 low emission zones in large cities where the most polluting vehicles would be prohibited and strengthening of the particle / NOx criteria in the choice of vehicles
-agriculture: adaptation of the nitrogen supply of the animals, covering of the pits, adjustments of the tractors and adaptation of the spreading tools.
Measures still in the making
The objective, registered in the Grenelle of the environment, is therefore to reduce by 30% in 2015 the content of air in fine particles. To achieve this, several measures were envisaged by the second National Environmental Health Plan published in July, but the "more specific" particle plan is still being developed. Repeatedly criticized by the minister for "shortcomings", it should see the light of day in September (see box). Among the priorities of this plan, there are measures concerning the domestic combustion of wood which seems to have become a major concern. "A garden fire of 50kg of plants emits as many particles as heating its gazebo with fuel for 4 and a half months or traveling 8500 km with a petrol car or 35000 km with a diesel car or even making a chimney fire for half day ”, specifies the press kit. Problem: while the wood used for domestic heating turns out to be particularly emitting particles, it was chosen by the government to reach the objective of 23% of use of renewable energies in the total consumption of energy in 2020…
France also continues to display (very) ambitious targets for lowering emission standards, but it is still among the dunces of the European Union. Indeed, knowing that around 30% of all surveillance zones in France exceed European standards for PM10 since 2005 (which represented in 2007, around 18 million people), the government has asked for a postponement of the respect of values limits to June 11, 2011. A postponement that the commission refused, considering that the actions announced were not able to allow compliance with these limits…
* Technical Interprofessional Center for Air Pollution Studies
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