Many pesticides have been detected in the air and dust inside homes in mainland France, although sometimes banned for years, according to the results of a national study published Thursday, November 27. This campaign made it possible to detect 81 pesticides in the air and 92 in dust, in 571 homes in 321 municipalities spread across 84 departments.
The study Pestilogefunded by the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) and carried out from November 2020 to February 2023, aims to quantify the concentration of pesticides in the air and household dust to be used to assess the risks linked to exposure to these substances.
According to the report published by ANSES, four pesticides were detected in the air of more than 80% of homes: two insecticides, lindane and transfluthrin, and two insect repellents, DEET and icaridin. These pesticides and another insecticide, Permethrin, were found in more than one in two homes while a fungicide, Folpel, was detected in more than 60% of homes.
Finally, chlorpropham, a herbicide, was present in 70% of homes during this detection campaign carried out by the Scientific and Technical Building Center (CSTB). For some of these products – lindane and permethrin – the concentrations were even “generally higher in homes than in outside air”.
In the absence of reference values or regulatory thresholds, it is however impossible to say whether or not exposure to the concentrations recorded represents a risk to the health of occupants, explains ANSES.
Substances omnipresent in household dust
As for pesticides, “more often detected in dust than in the air in homes”13 of them were detected in more than nine out of ten homes. These include five fungicides (boscalid, dichloran, difenoconazole, propiconazole, tebuconazole), four insecticides (acetamiprid, cypermethrin, imidacloprid, permethrin), two herbicides (glyphosate, terbutryn) and two insect repellents (DEET, icaridin). And four other substances were found in more than one in two homes (fipronil, lindane, pyriproxyfen, transfluthrin).
These measurements demonstrate the persistence, well after their use, of pesticide contamination in the air and dust of French homes. “Regular cleaning of surfaces and vacuuming of dust remain among the best tools to limit” this persistence, recalls the health security agency.
Some of these products have not been marketed for years, “vigilance must be maintained regarding the presence of old furniture or wooden frames which may have been treated with biocidal products which are currently banned”underlines Anses. And “using old stocks of plant protection or biocide products is not recommended”.