BIOBRO

Human biomonitoring around metal shredder sites in Wallonia

Biomonitoring Info
Teen Consent Form
Dust instructions
Dust information

THIS PROJECT IS DONE: RESULTS TRANSMITTED BY PRESS CONFERENCE, Tuesday April 22, 2024.

Press kit

PROJECT CONTEXT

There is no immediate danger to the health of the population living around the shredders, but the situation calls for preventive measures to be taken in the event of chronic exposure. Some measures to reduce exposure have already been taken, such as the installation of more efficient filters to reduce gas and dust emissions. Recommendations were also given to local residents.

The Minister for the Environment asked for a more precise assessment of the impregnation of the population living near the sites, and the ISSeP was asked to set up a biomonitoring study. In BIOBRO, urine and blood (and hair) samples will be collected from teenagers aged 12 to 19 living near one of the metal shredders.

Impregnation rates for certain pollutants, including PCBs, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), flame retardants and metals, will be compared with those measured in the general population in Wallonia (BMH-Wal project) and elsewhere. Ultimately, the results will enable us to refine, if necessary, recommendations for reducing the exposure of local populations.

[1 ] Metal shredders are companies that contribute to the circular economy by sorting and recycling raw materials. These companies are involved in the recovery of a wide range of materials: ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastics, etc. Raw materials can be recycled from all types of vehicle, as well as from end-of-life electronic and household appliances, construction parts and so on.

DEFINED STUDY AREAS FOR EACH SHREDDER

Keyser in Courcelles
Derichebourg in Charleroi
Dubail in Namur (Beez)
Ecore in Aubange
Cometsambre in Châtelet
Cometsambre in Mons (Obourg)
BST in Engis

SUBSTANCES

The substances to be tested in blood and urine are those potentially emitted by metal grinding plants. These include persistent organic pollutants, POPs (such as PCBs, including PCB-dioxin like, and flame retardants: PBDEs) and metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, copper, chromium, mercury, thallium and zinc).

Other trace substances will also be looked for, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and perfluorinated alkyls (PFOS, PFOA, etc.).

Find out more about each substance:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the BIOBRO study?

What substances are measured?

Why target teenagers?

What should I do if I agree to take part?

When and how does this participation take place?

What happens to my blood and urine samples, data and results?

Will there be any costs involved?

How to prepare for your visit

How and when can I find out my personal results?

What will be done with the project’s collective results?

What is the BIOBRO ?

Our study involves measuring volunteers’ blood, urine and even hair for chemicals and pollutants present in our environment: in the air we breathe, in our food, in packaging, in everyday products, in our homes and gardens.

We plan to investigate these substances in 500 teenagers aged 12 to 19 living near several metal shredders in Wallonia (50 or 100 participants per site).

The results will enable us to draw up an inventory of the presence in young people’s bodies of certain pollutants potentially emitted by these shredding plants. We will compare the results with measurements already carried out in the general population in Wallonia (BMH-Wal project), Flanders and other countries.

Who is conducting the study, who is funding it and who approved it?

We are a team of multidisciplinary scientists from the Institut Scientifique de Service Public (ISSeP), Sciensano, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège, Université Catholique de Louvain and Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc. Our project is called BIOBRO. It is financed by the Service Public de Wallonie.

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Comité d’Éthique Hospitalo-Facultaire Universitaire de Liège. This opinion of the Ethics Committee should not be considered as an incentive to participate in the study.

What substances are measured?

These are substances potentially emitted by metal shredding plants.

  • PCBs including PCBsdioxin-like
  • flame retardants: PBDEs
  • perfluorinated compounds (PCF) : PFAS (PFOS, PFAO, PFNA…)
  • metals (TMEs): lead, cadmium, arsenic, copper, mercury, zinc, thallium, chromium
  • PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)

Why target teenagers ?

We’re looking for teenagers aged 12 to 19 who have been living near one of Wallonia’s seven metal shredders for at least 5 years.

Teenagers are good witnesses of local and recent exhibitions:

  • Local, because the majority of teenagers still go to school, often close to home. Just like leisure activities (sports, youth movements…) that usually take place close to home.
  • Recent, because you’re young. Your exposure corresponds to that of the last 10 to 20 years, unlike adults whose results reflect a longer-term exposure.

What’s more, you are (in theory) less exposed to other exposures associated with your professional life or domestic work (use of cleaning products, DIY, etc.). And finally, for adolescents, we already have data from previous studies that will enable us to make comparisons.

What should I do if I agree to take part?

If you live near one of the shredders involved in the study and would like to take part, please complete the online form: https://biobro.issep.be/inscription.html

We can also be reached by e-mail biomonitoring@issep.be, or by phone/sms 0479 86 61 44.

When and how does this participation take place?

The sampling campaign will take place between March 2022 and July 2022.

If your participation is confirmed, we’ll contact you to let you know when and where the sampling session will take place. You will also be asked to confirm your willingness to participate by returning your consent form, signed by you and your parents.

Once you have agreed to take part, you will be asked to collect a urine sample in a container given to you. A blood test will also be carried out by qualified and specially trained health professionals.

You’ll be asked to fill in a questionnaire designed to gather information about your lifestyle, diet, home, general health and so on.

This takes about 30 minutes. At the appointment, you’ll still have time to ask all the questions you want before making up your mind!

Blood and urine samples are then analyzed in the laboratory. When all the analysis results are available, they will be encoded, along with the questionnaire responses, in a database. This is when statistical analysis and interpretation begins. A report on the collective results will be drawn up.

All this will take about 2 years. So you won’t know the results of the study for another two years.

Will there be any costs involved?

It won’t cost you a thing! All we need is your time, your willingness to take part in this scientific study, to consent to sampling and to answer a questionnaire.

How to prepare for your visit

No special preparation is required.

What happens to my blood and urine samples, data and results?

Your samples and data will only be used with your informed consent and in a way that protects your privacy according to the European regulation ‘RGPD’ and national requirements. The published results of the study will not identify you in any way.

A unique, random code (impossible to decode) made up of numbers and letters will be assigned to each volunteer. This code will then remove all personally identifiable information to protect your privacy and prevent your data from being tracked. Only the people in charge of the project will have knowledge of and access to the identification information needed to ensure the return of your results (if you have expressed your wish).

Your coded blood and urine samples will be transferred to specialized laboratories for analysis. Your samples will be examined to measure your exposure to chemicals potentially related to metal grinding activities. Your samples will then be stored by ISSeP and the laboratories in a biobank for 20 years, for possible use in future ethically approved chemical exposure studies. Coded data collected from you and other participants will be stored and used for research purposes, and may be combined with other data from different sources. Data sharing will be facilitated by data infrastructures and/or dedicated information systems.

The overall results of the study will be communicated to regional, national and European authorities in order to support political actions linked to the management of chemicals for the protection of public health. They will also be disseminated to other stakeholders, including the general public, scientists and other interested parties.

How and when can I find out my personal results?

Once the study is over (i.e. in 2 years!) if you have indicated in the informed consent form that you wish to receive your personal results, you and your parents will be informed by Suzanne Remy (ISSeP) about them, by post or e-mail/sms.

Finally, if high levels of chemicals are detected, you are advised to review your results with your GP.

You and your parents will also be informed of the collective results of the study. They will be published in a study report and made available to the public on the ISSeP website www.issep.be/biomonitoring.

What will be done with the project’s collective results?

All measurements and data collected in BIOBRO will be used for :

  • Provide objective data on the exposure of local populations to certain pollutants from metal grinding facilities;
  • Verify whether or not the population living near these sites is more exposed to certain pollutants than other populations, by comparison with the Walloon reference values established for the general population;
  • Improve, if necessary, the recommendations previously issued in other studies, to reduce the exposure of local populations.
DOCUMENTS

Scientific documents

General documents

BIOBRO project sheet
BIOBRO launch press release (March 2022)

-USEFUL LINKS:
Environment-Health portal of the Public Service of Wallonia:

CONTACTS

For further information before, during or after the study, please contact us:

Ingrid Ruthy and Suzanne Remy
ISSeP – Cellule Environnement-Santé, 200 Rue du Chéra – 4000 Liège
Tel. 04/229.82.99 (ISSeP Home: 04 229 83 11)
GSM : 0479 866 144
Email : biomonitoring@issep.be