National Research Programme for Environmental and Occupational Health: Calls for projects issued for 2022
ANSES is issuing new calls for projects as part of the National Research Programme for Environmental and Occupational Health (PNR EST). They support research to develop scientific knowledge that is essential for health-related risk assessments and expert appraisals. The 2022 edition of this programme will include two calls for projects: a general one on the themes of environmental and occupational health, and a second specific one on "Radiofrequencies and Health". The deadline for project submission is 6 January 2022.
Since 2006, ANSES has coordinated the National Research Programme for Environmental and Occupational Health (PNR EST), which funds research on environmental risks to human health, including in the workplace, and risks to ecosystems. In total, around 30 projects are funded each year, for a duration of two or three years. These projects help further research and knowledge on key questions by considering the emergence of new risks associated with changes to our environment, different consumption or work patterns, the arrival of new infectious diseases or the development of new technologies.
Calls for projects issued for 2022
The two 2022 PNR EST calls for projects are open from 15 November 2021 to 6 January 2022.
The first call for projects, of a general nature, focuses on funding research on priority issues in environmental and occupational health. These questions reflect public policy orientations (environmental health, occupational health and cancer plans). The issues addressed include the effects of nanomaterials, chemical agents including plant protection products, with special emphasis on endocrine disruptors, light pollution and climate change; factors promoting cancer, and worker exposure to pathogens.
As part of this general call, an additional budget is planned this year to fund projects relating to the effect of air quality on health. ANSES also expects proposals relating to the study of the exposome, i.e. all the types of exposure affecting the health of individuals during their lifetime.
The second call for projects, devoted to the theme "Radiofrequencies and Health", is designed to enhance knowledge on this subject and broaden the number of scientists studying it. This call for projects focuses on four themes: research on the mechanisms of action of radiofrequencies at cellular level, their possible physiological or health effects, electromagnetic hypersensitivity, and the characterisation of uses and exposures to radiofrequencies in real-life situations.
Funding of the PNR EST
The projects selected under the PNR EST are financed by ANSES from budgets delegated by the Ministries of the Environment, Agriculture and Labour, along with several other co-funding partners, including the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME), and the multi-agency thematic institute for cancer (ITMO Cancer) from the AVIESAN alliance through the ten-year strategy to combat cancer. Find out more about the National Research Programme for Environmental and Occupational Health.