At the suggestion of Environment Minister Céline Tellier, the Walloon Government has entrusted the Institut Scientifique de Service Public (ISSeP) with the task of operationalizing a campaign to measure and analyze PFAS in the blood of people affected by exceedances of the future standard of 100 ng/L in drinking water. The aim of this campaign is to objectivize the population’s exposure in order to determine the level of risk, and to support the people concerned on the basis of health recommendations to be formulated by the independent PFAS Scientific Council.
In the wake of the action plan presented by Minister Céline Tellier on November 24, the Walloon Government on December 7 entrusted the Institut Scientifique de Service Public (ISSeP) with the task of operationalizing the health monitoring of people affected by a past or present exceedance of the 100 ng/l standard in drinking water.
In concrete terms, the ISSeP is tasked with organizing a blood sampling and analysis campaign with the aim of objectifying the exposure and possible overexposure of the population in the aforementioned areas, in order to specify the level of health risk and support the people concerned, based on the recommendations to be formulated by the independent PFAS Scientific Council, whose composition and missions were validated on November 22, 2023 by the Government.
More specifically, the blood levels of these pollutants will be compared with the reference values established as part of the global biomonitoring carried out in 2021, in order to determine whether or not PFAS levels are higher than the Walloon average. These results will also be compared with available health risk values. They will also complement existing data and refine the interpretation of results. Analysis of the questionnaires submitted to volunteers – covering their diet, environment, activities and occupational exposure – will provide information on the causes of exposure in order to establish possible correlations.
Areas where blood sampling will be offered
The blood sampling campaign will be offered as a priority, and on a voluntary basis, to residents who have at some time been supplied with water with PFAS concentrations in excess of 100 ng/L. Should past, present or future exceedances be identified, they will also be included in the sampling campaign for the streets concerned.
Other areas likely to be concerned by blood sampling and analysis may be defined as knowledge of PFAS contamination in other environmental matrices (soil, groundwater, surface water, etc.) evolves, should transfer to humans be considered plausible. A second sampling campaign may then be organized for residents of these new perimeters, depending on the environmental results.
Medical staff to be recruited in December
The scientific protocol and methodology proposed by ISSeP to organize this sampling campaign was submitted to the independent PFAS Scientific Council and to the Ethics Committee, in accordance with current legislation.
An initial public contract for sampling and analysis – including the recruitment of qualified nursing staff to carry out the sampling and of analysis laboratories – has been prepared by the ISSeP and will be launched as soon as possible so that the sampling campaign can get underway in the next few weeks.
People wishing to benefit from these blood samples will therefore be asked to register their interest from December onwards. ISSEP will shortly be informing municipalities of the practical details.
Expansion of the Independent Scientific Advisory Board on PFAS
At the suggestion of the Minister for the Environment, Céline Tellier, the Walloon Government has approved an extension to the Independent Scientific Council (ISC) on PFAS. Previously approved on Wednesday November 22, the composition of the ISC, whose mission is to examine all the consequences of PFAS on human health, was set to change.
As a reminder, following reports of the presence of PFAS in the environment, and more specifically in the drinking water distributed between October 2021 and March 2023 in the communes served by the Chièvres well, the Walloon Government undertook to implement a series of actions aimed at determining the source of pollution and ensuring health monitoring for the citizens concerned.
Among these actions, the Walloon Government has tasked the Minister for the Environment, Céline Tellier, with setting up an independent group of scientific experts with diverse and complementary academic and scientific backgrounds.
Céline Tellier, French Minister for the Environment: “I’m delighted that the Independent Scientific Council on PFAS has been given a broader remit. The ISC’s initial work has enabled us to make progress on the organization of blood sampling for people living in areas where the future European standard for drinking water has been exceeded. The work in progress will enable us to draw up clear and strong guidelines to further strengthen the protection of human health. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to the researchers and professors who have agreed to advise the government on this important task.
Four new members
The Independent Scientific Advisory Board on PFAS is strengthened by the following members (in alphabetical order):
Jean-Marie Colet, in charge of the Human Biology and Toxicology Department at the University of Mons (toxicology expertise)
Patrick Kestemont, Professor and Director of the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit at the University of Namur (expertise in environmental biology)
Olivier Luminet, Professor Extraordinary at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the Catholic University of Louvain. In particular, Mr. Luminet is working on the effects of the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of Belgian citizens. This complements the Board’s range of expertise with psychological skills.
Anne-Simone Parent, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Liège (expertise in neuroendocrinology)
These experts will work with the experts already appointed by the Walloon Government on November 22, namely (in alphabetical order):
Catherine Bouland, Professor at the School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles (public health expertise)
Corinne Charlier, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Liège (expertise in toxicological chemistry), who is chairing the ISC ad interim, pending the creation and vote on the Internal Rules of Procedure by all members.
Jean-François Deliège, Associate Professor, Faculty of Science, University of Liège (water expertise)
Gauthier Eppe, Professor at the Faculty of Science, University of Liège (expertise in analytical chemistry)
Célia Joaquim Justo, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Science, University of Liège (ecotoxicology expertise)
Initially made up of 6 scientific experts, the Independent Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) has met twice since its creation on November 22. One of our members, Professor Alfred Bernard, decided on November 29 to withdraw from the Board.
Specified missions concerning health recommendations
The Council’s general remit remains to advise the Government and examine the health consequences of PFAS. It will meet again in the next few days.
The ISC has clarified the scientific protocol proposed by the ISSeP, which will enable medical monitoring of people in areas where the future standard of 100 ng/l has been exceeded in drinking water and/or who live in or near areas considered to be at environmental risk PFAS (following an environmental survey).
In addition to the tasks already defined, the CSI is responsible for proposing useful information and specific recommendations to be communicated to people who receive the results of their blood tests carried out as part of the mission entrusted to the ISSeP, based where appropriate on the recommendations of the Conseil Supérieur de la Santé. The ISC must therefore draw up a methodology for interpreting individual and collective results by the end of January, and present it to the Government so that useful information and recommendations can be communicated to the citizens concerned at the same time as the blood test results.
(Walloon Government press release, December 12, 2023)