2009 Activity Report
Afsset has had a great year in which its activity has accelerated and, more than ever, it has met challenges which are significant for its history.
It was in a position to undertake scientific advances and affirm its analysis autonomy in 2009 with the production of major excellence reports such as «short and thin asbestos fibres» in February 2009, which called former consensuses into question, or else the report on radio frequencies in October which led to a turnaround in the situation.
Based on completely open scientific values, the very recent adoption of a scientific project is designed to raise our awareness within the scientific community and explain expert appraisals so as to gain support. Today, three external scientists are working on the agency’s projects, alongside one internal scientist. This project resulted in initial success with an unusually high number of applicants for the «REACH» scientific expert committee in mid-2009. Furthermore, Afsset made an impact in terms of the REACH regulation thanks to the publication of a list of 24 «candidate substances» for authorisation, a first in Europe, broadly welcomed as far as the European chemicals industry.
Thanks to the doubling of its media outreach in 2009, the agency is now at the very heart of public debate. Via an alliance with the prestigious «École des Mines» school, the Governing Uncertainty conference in July fostered the conviction that modern expert appraisal must integrate the question of the concerns of upstream populations and reiterate this downstream.
In this strategy based on openness towards society, Afsset is acknowledged as a pioneer. Thanks to the signature of a charter in November 2008, relay audiences were able to become involved in the expert appraisal process. Consulting with them is useful when defining the issues which the agency must deal with, which allows the expert appraisal to draw up responses which the decision-maker can use.
Internationally, the agency’s scope is resolutely European. In August 2009, it was awarded the «NanoGenotox» programme by the European Commission: it is coordinating 18 European teams over three years, resulting in simplified fast assessment processes for the toxicity of nanomaterials on genes, which are the forerunners of possible carcinogenesis.
2009 was also a year of mergers to simplify the institutional landscape. On 1 July, an initial merger with BERPC created a single hub for public regulatory expert appraisal covering chemical substances. On 21 July, the «Bachelot» law brought about the merger of Afssa and Afsset, scheduled for 2010. After years of debate, this development became reality. Much energy was spent on defending the interests of occupational and environmental health and on obtaining guarantees and project evolutions which will lead to a calmer future within the new establishment. Support from internal and external actors for the agency’s missions and values has been highly strengthened.
Finally, last December, the government decided to entrust Afsset with the missions of the Health and Radiofrequencies Foundation. This makes Afsset a hub at the very centre of scientific work on radio frequencies, both as an expert and as a research funder. With this new merger, Afsset will also learn to manage a permanent scientific dialogue body around a subject as difficult as radio frequencies. From the point of view of health safety agencies, which are all exposed to latent crises, this initiative will be a first, and a very interesting opportunity to work in-depth on a taxing subject with civil society.
In all, the research scheduling activity has seen enormous changes, tripling its financial size in only 18 months. In 2009, Ademe opened up a new path by becoming, with the contribution of one million euros, the leading joint funder of Afsset’s research programme. The French National Cancer Institute is to fall into step in 2010, in the next part of the new cancer and environment plan. At the same time, the research community has confirmed its interest in this finalised programme concerning support for public policies, by doubling the number of files lodged in 2009 (120 files in total).
Finally, Afsset has once more taken the lead in quality certification: it is wholly ready in 2010 to face the certification tests in relation to the ISO 9001 and NFX 50-110 «expert appraisal quality» standards.
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