French Ministry of the Environment

A public administrative body under the authority of the French Ministry of the Environment. 

Oudin LC, Maupas D. 2003. Systhme d evaluation de la Qualite des Cours d eau — rapport de presentation (version 2). Ministere de l Ecologie et du Developpement Durable, Agences de l eau French Ministry of the Environment, Paris France, 106 pp. 

French Ministry of the Environment, French Ministry of Health and F. M. o. Work (2003) Risk Assessment of 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic Acid, Di-C8-10-Branched Alkyl Esters C9-Rich, and Di-Isononyl Phthalate (DINP). European Chemicals Bureau, Is-pra, Italy... 

In 1960, a study by Jaulmes et al. based on the analysis of 500 wine samples, showed that French wines had an average lead content of 180 p-g/1. In 1983, a survey by the French Ministry of the Environment reported that the average lead concentration in commercially available wines was 118 p.g/1. More recently, on the basis of 2733 samples analyzed in 1990, L Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins (ONIVINS) found an average value of 68 p.g/1. Pellerin et al. (1997) showed that lead in wine is partially combined in a stable complex with a pectic polysaccharide, a dimer of rhamnogalac-turonan II. This discovery sheds a new light on the toxicological problems related to lead in wine (Section 3.6.4). 

In 1992, the French Ministry of the Environment created the Bureau d analyse des risques et pollutions industrielles (BARPI). This Department centralizes and analyzes data related to accidents, serious pollution, and fires linked to what may be industrial, commercial, agricultural, or other types of activities, particularly the transport of hazardous materials (BARPI, 1992). Information is listed on the ARIA database (Analyse, Recherche et Information sur... 

The ecotoxicity of wastes has to be evaluated after application of bioassays to raw wastes and to their leachates (French Ministry of Environment, 1998). As emphasized several times in this book, bioassays give a direct and comprehensive estimate of environmental toxicity. When confronted with complex mixtures of chemicals, responses of biological tests integrate different factors such as antagonism, synergism, and bioavailability of pollutants. 

Figure 2. Decision scheme integrating the WASTOXHAS procedure with examples of current waste management guidelines (EC = European Communities FME = French Ministry of Environment).

This work was supported in part by the French Ministries of Agriculture (Direction des Forets), of Environment (SRETIE), and of Research and by the Commission of European Communities, DG XII of CEC (DEFORPA Program). 

France has been the most active of the 12 Member States of the Communities in respect to releases to the environment with 80 applications in 1990 alone. Releases will be dealt with under national vertical legislation being the responsibility of the appropriate sector ministry. The two existing committees, CGG and CGB, continue to advise. The French Parliament passed the legislation to formally implement the two Directives during 1992. 

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