The Nancy Laboratory for Hydrology periodically organises national campaigns to measure non-regulated emerging pollutants that are not regulated or rarely investigated for during regular inspections. These campaigns, supported by the Directorate General for Health (DGS) of the French Ministry of Labor, Health and Solidarity, aim to improve knowledge of contamination of water resources and drinking water, to collect exposure data necessary for the assessment of health risks, and can be useful for adapting the water quality monitoring program.

The last campaign carried out between 2020 and 2022 in consultation with the ARS (Regional health agency) and the DGS, focused on three classes of pollutants:

• 157 pesticides and pesticide metabolites
• 54 explosive residues
• 1 solvent: 1,4-dioxane

It made it possible to collect more than 136,000 results. Raw and treated water samples were taken throughout France, including overseas territories. The objective was to analyze water collection points representing approximately 20% of the water distributed. Among the molecules searched for, a pesticide metabolite was very frequently found: chlorothalonil R 741811.
See also "Emerging pollutants in drinking water: review of the main findings of the latest national campaign"
Read the report on the national prevalence campaign for emerging compounds in drinking water, Pesticides and pesticide metabolites - Explosives residues - 1,4-dioxane (in french)

Today, a new national campaign is being prepared with samples expected to start in spring 2024. This campaign will focus on:

• An expanded list of PFAS compounds (per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds), including very small molecules (Ultra Short PFAS)
• A targeted list of pesticides which will provide information on the population's exposure levels in support of the ongoing Total Diet Study (EAT3) work
• Prospective and exploratory research using a non-targeted approach called “NTS” in high-resolution mass spectrometry in order to collect chemical fingerprints of samples which will make it possible to evaluate a posteriori the presence of new contaminants of interest