Use and storage of pesticides at home in France (the Pesti'home survey 2014).

Some epidemiological studies have raised health concerns following the chronic exposure of pregnant women and children to pesticides in the domestic environment. In France very little is known about potential exposure to pesticides at home. An observational study called Pesti'home was carried out in continental France between July and November 2014. The residential use of pesticides was investigated and an inventory of pesticides and active ingredients used and stored at home was drawn up. Plant protection products, biocides, and human and animal external pest control products were listed during face-to-face interviews. A random sample of households including at least one adult (18-79 years old) was selected following a two-stage stratified random sampling method using the national census database. Within each household, an adult was appointed to answer survey questions. Data related to the interviewee's sociodemographic and housing characteristics, the reported use of pesticides at home, and a visual inventory of all stored pesticides were collected. Overall, 1507 households participated. The participation rate was between 36% and 57% according to the definition chosen. Over the previous 12 months, 75% of households declared that they had used at least one pesticide. Households who used and stored at least one product most frequently used an insecticide (84%). The active ingredients most frequently used by these households as insecticides were pyrethroids, namely tetramethrin and permethrin. The Pesti'home survey collected detailed data on the residential use of pesticides for risk assessment at national and European levels.

A real-world implementation of a nationwide, long-term monitoring program to assess the impact of agrochemicals and agricultural practices on biodiversity.

Biodiversity has undergone a major decline throughout recent decades, particularly in farmland. Agricultural practices are recognized to be an important pressure on farmland biodiversity, and pesticides are suspected to be one of the main causes of this decline in biodiversity. As part of the national plan for reduction of pesticides use (Ecophyto), the French ministry of agriculture launched the 500 ENI (nonintended effects) monitoring program in 2012 in order to assess the unintended effects of agricultural practices, including pesticide use, on biodiversity represented by several taxonomic groups of interest for farmers. This long-term program monitors the biodiversity of nontargeted species (earthworms, plants, coleoptera, and birds), together with a wide range of annual data on agricultural practices (crop rotation, soil tillage, weed control, fertilizers, chemical treatments, etc.). Other parameters (e.g., landscape and climatic characteristics) are also integrated as covariates during the analyses. This monitoring program is expected to improve our understanding of the relative contribution of the different drivers of population and community trends. Here, we present the experience of setting up the 500 ENI network for this ambitious and highly complex monitoring program, as well as the type of data it collects. The issue of data quality control and some first results are discussed. With the aim of being useful to readers who would like to set up similar monitoring schemes, we also address some questions that have arisen following the first five years of the implementation phase of the program.

A Review of the Effects of Major Atmospheric Pollutants on Pollen Grains, Pollen Content, and Allergenicity.

This review summarizes the available data related to the effects of air pollution on pollen grains from different plant species. Several studies carried out either on in situ harvested pollen or on pollen exposed in different places more or less polluted are presented and discussed. The different experimental procedures used to monitor the impact of pollution on pollen grains and on various produced external or internal subparticles are listed. Physicochemical and biological effects of artificial pollution (gaseous and particulate) on pollen from different plants, in different laboratory conditions, are considered. The effects of polluted pollen grains, subparticles, and derived aeroallergens in animal models, in in vitro cell culture, on healthy human and allergic patients are described. Combined effects of atmospheric pollutants and pollen grains-derived biological material on allergic population are specifically discussed. Within the notion of "polluen," some methodological biases are underlined and research tracks in this field are proposed.