Chemical risk

The ARC unit is a joint Ifremer-Ineris structure created in 2001. It combines Ifremer's knowledge of the marine environment with Ineris' expertise in chemical risk.
The main activities of the unit are organised around two axes: institutional support and risk analysis in the marine environment.

 Institutional support :

• Support for the implementation of regulations on substances, the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) (MSFD): in particular through the development/revision of threshold values (EQS - Environmental Thresholds) and the adaptation of existing threshold values to environmental matrices used in the framework of monitoring to assess water quality - projects: VGE mollusc , MONITOOL, TROMBONE-

• Contribution to the prioritisation of substances in marine environment - project Emergent'Sea-

• Follow-up of the work on hazardous substances in the framework of the OSPAR HASEC (Hazardous Substances and Eutrophication Committee).
• Support in the event of accidental chemical spills: extranet access to internal procedures.

Risk analysis in the marine environment:

• Steering/conducting studies on chemical risk assessment in the marine environment, contribution to research activities - projects: ANODE, ECOCAP, SIMBIOSE -

• Support for the definition of monitoring strategies in the marine environment (choice of matrices, species, sampling, analytical methodology).

The ARC unit coordinates expert assessments, pilots or contributes to studies to improve the monitoring and assessment of the quality of marine ecosystems. It also acts as an interface between research laboratories and external requests.