ISSeP receives grant for Wallonia’s first biomonitoring project! This means that we will be studying the presence of chemical substances in the blood or urine of 1,000 Walloons. A further step towards greater knowledge in this field.
The Walloon Government has adopted the decree of Walloon Environment Minister Carlo DI ANTONIO allocating a €1 million grant to the Institut Scientifique de Service Public (ISSeP) to carry out biomonitoring (study of metabolites contained in blood or urine) in Wallonia from 2019.
The aim of this study will be to determine the levels of impregnation of the Walloon population with chemical substances present in the environment.
The aim of the program is to obtain reference data on the exposure of Walloons to a series of frequently encountered substances and/or pollutants,” explains Carlo DI ANTONIO. The survey will provide a snapshot of the current situation and inform the actions needed to reduce citizens’ exposure to various potentially hazardous substances.”
Biomonitoring will be carried out in partnership with Liège University Hospital and the Universities of Wallonia and Brussels.
1000 WALLOONS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
200 people (male/female parity) per age category are needed to give sufficient statistical power to the biomonitoring results. 5 age categories have been defined. The blood or urine of 1,000 Walloons will be analyzed.
The following table provides a proposed sampling basis (to be validated at the first scientific support committee meeting):
| Age categories | Biological matrix | Number of participants |
| Newborns | umbilical cord | 200 |
| Children aged 9-12 | urine (blood > difficult) | 200 |
| Teenagers aged 14-16 | urine and blood | 200 |
| Adults aged 20-40 | urine and blood | 200 |
| Adults 50-65 (or >50) | urine and blood | 200 |
| TOTAL | 1000 |
The substances targeted by biomonitoring will include emerging substances as well as “classic” substances for which exposure and health risks for Walloons remain difficult to pin down, even though environmental data are abundant and ban or reduction legislation is in force.
Examples of substances targeted by biomonitoring:
- Endocrine disruptors,
- Pesticides,
- Metals,
- Hydrocarbon,
- Volatile organic compound,
- Polychlorinated biphenyls,
- …
The introduction of a biomonitoring program in Wallonia is part of the Environment-Health Plan promoted by the Walloon Minister for the Environment, Carlo DI ANTONIO.
This biomonitoring should enable us to improve our knowledge of the links between our environment and our health,” stresses Carlo DI ANTONIO. Taking action to reduce our exposure to pesticides, endocrine disruptors, indoor pollution, etc. will be all the more relevant when we know the causes, the influencing factors and the reality of our exposure. ”
Biomonitoring is a flagship action in the field of environment-health, which will enable Wallonia to have monitoring equivalent to that of neighboring regions.
REMINDER: while the biomonitoring that will soon be carried out will enable us to refine the analysis of our exposure to certain substances, Wallonia has already taken numerous measures to limit this exposure:
- Ban on the use of pesticides containing neonicotinoids,
- ban on the use of glyphosate by untrained users,
- ban on spraying within 50 meters of the edge of any plot of land adjoining a facility (playgrounds, schools, boarding schools, crèches and childcare facilities) during the hours when the facility is in use,
- …
PRESS CONTACT:
Press Secretary to Minister DI ANTONIO – 0498/10.26.20
Head of communication ISSeP – 04/229 83 49
To contact the project managers and apply: biomonitoring@issep.be