There are no more kidney and bladder cancers or acute leukemias in the Fos-sur-Mer – Étang de Berre area, according to studies carried out by the Provence-Alpes-Côte Regional Health Agency. d’Azur and Public Health France.
- The conclusions of studies carried out in the Fos-sur-Mer – Étang de Berre area to assess the cancer risks of residents have been reported.
- They ensure that bladder and kidney cancers and acute leukemia are not more common in this region.
- On the other hand, researchers have noticed that there is an excess of bladder cancers in the municipalities of Marseille and the south-east of the department. This could be linked to smoking and air pollution.
Reassuring news for residents of the Fos-sur-Mer – Étang de Berre area in Bouches-du-Rhône. The work, carried out by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Health Agency and Public Health France, ensures that there is no increased risk of bladder cancer, kidney cancer or acute leukemia in this industrialized region.
Bladder, kidney, blood: no increased risks in Fos-sur-Mer
In order to respond to the population’s concerns, experts from the REVELA13 Observatory carried out two series of analyses: the first focused on cases of bladder, kidney and blood cancer in the region over the period 2013- 2016 while the second extended its scope of study by two additional years, until 2018.
“The quality of the data collected now makes it possible to confirm the first results previously published”write the authors in their conclusions presented on December 11, 2024. That is to say: bladder and kidney cancers and acute leukemia are not more frequent in Fos-sur-Mer – Étang de Berre than in other areas of the department.
On the other hand, the analysis of the data collected made it possible to highlight another phenomenon. There is an excess of bladder cancers in the municipalities of Marseille and the south-east of the department. The researchers suggest that these cases are “in connection with a higher population density and where significant smoking is estimated“. They recall that tobacco is the cause of approximately 65% of cases of bladder cancer in men and 30% in women in developed countries. They also note that this could also be linked to air pollution, another risk factor for bladder tumors.
Public Health France warns that it will achieve in 2025, “an ecological study to cross-check epidemiological data collected by the REVELA13 observatory with air pollution data on the Bouches-du-Rhône department, relying on a local research team”.
Cancer: monitoring and measures to limit environmental exposure
If the work carried out has made it possible to provide answers to the inhabitants of Bouches-du-Rhône concerning the incidence of the three cancers, the two health institutions recognize that they do not make it possible to “answer all the questions concerning the impact of environmental and industrial exposures in the Fos-sur-Mer – Étang de Berre area on the health of local residents, which goes beyond the sole subject of measuring the incidence for these three types of cancer.
For Public Health France, it is essential to continue and strengthen the surveillance of cancers and other pathologies linked to environmental and industrial exposures. The agency adds that it is also important to take measures to “reduce as much as possible emissions at source and the exposure of local residents and workers exposed to emissions from industrial sites”.
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