In accordance with the Law on Air and the Rational Use of Energy, the approved associations bring together 4 colleges, which are fairly represented on the Boards of Directors:
Prefects and State Services
Local and territorial communities
Issuers (carriers, manufacturers, etc.)
Environmental and consumer protection associations and qualified personalities.
Basic tasks:
(in reference to the law on Air and the Rational Use of Energy of December 30, 1996)
Implementation of air quality monitoring and information
Dissemination of results and forecasts
Immediate transmission to the prefects of information relating to overruns or forecasts of overruns of alert and recommendation thresholds.
The Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development (MEDD) is responsible for implementing the national air monitoring, prevention and information policy.
It relies for this on:
the ATMO federation and all the associations it has approved,
ADEME (Environment and Energy Management Agency),
the LCSQA (Central Air Quality Monitoring Laboratory).
ADEME
(Environment and Energy Management Agency)
ADEME ensures the technical coordination of air quality monitoring at the national level and manages the National Air Quality Database (BDQA). Its regional delegations participate in the Boards of Directors of approved associations, in the State college,
The Central Air Quality Monitoring Laboratory (LCSQA) acts as scientific and technical support for approved associations and is made up of the Ecole des Mines de Douai (EMD), the National Institute for the Industrial Environment and of Risks (INERIS) and the National Testing Laboratory (LNE). It contributes to improving the quality of measurements and provides the link between research and application in the field.
THE SURVEILLANCE :
Monitoring is carried out by various means including monitoring by fixed devices, measurement campaigns, emissions cadastres and modeling of air pollution in a given territory. The implementation of these various means makes it possible to provide cartographic representations of the pollution.
INFORMATION AND FORECAST:
Every citizen has the right to be informed about the quality of the air they breathe. Thus, for agglomerations of more than 100,000 inhabitants, the associations disseminate a global indicator of air quality: the ATMO index. For cities with less than 100,000 inhabitants, we speak of the simplified Air Quality Index (AQIs). These are daily air quality indicators. They are calculated from the results of “urban” and “peri-urban” stations representative of so-called “homogeneous pollution” zones. They mainly concern agglomerations. 4 pollutants are taken into account: fine particles, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone. Concentrations of each of these pollutants are rated on a scale of 1 very good to 10 very poor. The highest of these 4 sub-indices gives the ATMO index for the day. Real-time cartographic data can complete the dissemination of this index.
Convention ATMO-AFSSET
L’Agence française de sécurité sanitaire de l’environnement et du travail (Afsset) et ATMO France signent une convention de partenariat.
The French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Afsset), represented by Mr Martin Guespereau, Director General, and the National Federation of Approved Associations for Air Quality Monitoring (ATMO France), represented by Mr. Christian Hutin, deputy of the North, its president signed a bilateral partnership agreement today.
It is now recognized by the scientific community that air pollution has harmful effects on health. The AASQAs, through their mission of monitoring air quality and implementing high-performance tools, are able to provide detailed data on exposure to air pollution. In this sense, they are “key” partners for Afsset. They provide input for expert appraisal work in risk assessment; they provide support for the implementation of detailed techniques for characterizing exposure to atmospheric pollution, with the aim of being useful for health impact studies.
The contribution of the AASQAs to the Agency’s expert appraisal work already takes several forms: Participation in Afsset’s committee of specialized experts on “Risks related to air environments” and in various working groups examining referrals relating to the health risks induced by air pollutants; participation in the orientation and forecasting committee of the Pesticide Residues Observatory; ongoing research and development agreements aimed at improving knowledge of exposure to atmospheric pollution.
This agreement completes and frames the already fruitful collaborations with the AASQA.
The organization of the network on which Afsset relies to carry out itself or have carried out any expertise, analysis or study necessary for its missions, is a priority strategic orientation of the agency on which the solidity and relevance of his expertise.
The list of referrals in progress, Afsset’s opinions and reports can be consulted on www.afsset.fr
Contact the Press Office
Celine Delysse and Nathalie Lonnel: 01 56 29 13 77
press@afsset.fr