The 15th edition of the annual Studies and Research 2023-2024 report sheds light on the 98 projects carried out by the research teams in 2024, i.e. 83 studies under development and 15 studies completed at the end of 2023.
Organized around four programs aimed at creating useful knowledge for the prevention of biological, chemical, physical and mechanical risks, or linked to the organization and work situations, studies and research represent 45% of the activity of the INRS. They are part of a continuum which is based on the creation of new scientific and technical knowledge and its transfer to businesses, in the form of approaches, methods and tools.
Carried out within 6 departments and 21 specialized research laboratoriesthe work of the INRS teams takes into account two dimensions:
- act on risks identified but still very present in professional environments, with developments in terms of exposure or processes, such as the implementation of new chemical substances,
- anticipate dangers so that they are taken into account sufficiently in advance, as was the case with the rise of robotics or the development of physical assistance devices.
This document aims to report, in particular to the scientific community (counterparts, agencies, partner research organizations, university laboratories, etc.) of the work carried out by 250 researchers, engineers, doctors, technicians, psychologists, chemists, toxicologists, ergonomists, etc. in the service of health and safety at work.
Some figuresTwo thirds of the work is carried out in partnership with at least one research team (CNRS, Inserm, university laboratories, etc.), i.e. 106 collaborations en 2024. On the 98 studies of the 2023-2024 program, 22 studies were the subject of a thesis. In 2023, 96 articles have been published including 46 in international peer-reviewed journals. 152 communications were presented during national and international conferences or symposia in 2023. Technological development currently results in around ten partnership contracts for the industrialization or commercialization of innovations resulting from research. |
Studies completed in 2024
“This report presents particularly interesting results that you will discover when you read it. It is not possible to list them all. Four examples seem interesting to me to highlight among the studies completed to illustrate the variety of methodologies and subjects covered by INRS,” indicates Louis Laurent, Director of Studies and Research at INRS.
Keeping senior employees at work and preventing situations where they drop out of work
This study, carried out in collaboration with two occupational prevention and health services (SPST) and the Center for Research on Experience, Age and Populations at Work (CREAPT), focused on the prevention of dropout situations. of the work of senior employees. It is based on survey data concerning more than 20,000 employees as well as a series of biographical interviews. This study made it possible to identify a series of factors predicting dropout. These results are intended to be transmitted as a priority to the SPST to raise their awareness and provide them with avenues of action to prevent professional disintegration.
Shift work with night work and prevention recommendations: procedural analysis of the implementation of the change of hours and/or nighttime restorative breaks
This study focused on implementing micronaps at work as a means of alleviating fatigue for night/shift workers. It began with an analysis of the literature which addresses various purposes (health, vigilance, performance). Then it consisted of following four projects to set up “micro-nap” spaces. This work has made it possible to shed light on all facets of this practice and to draw various lessons, in particular on the plurality of practices and the need to take into account both the specific needs of staff and the cultural, social and organizational context of all implementation project.
European partnership for the assessment of risks linked to chemical substances (Park program/European Commission)
The study aimed to import into occupational health the metabolomic approach used in particular in environmental health. This work is part of the large-scale European project entitled Parc (European Partnership for Risk Assessment of Chemical Substances). It consisted of a non-targeted analysis processing thousands of molecules in parallel, to search for the contaminants to which the employee is exposed, and biomarkers of biological effects. The method has been developed and validated. It opens the way to new perspectives for evaluating exposures or even polyexposures in a non-targeted manner, particularly by sector. It will initially be deployed in the waste electrical and electronic equipment sector.
Electromagnetic compatibility of active implantable medical devices at the workstation
The fourth example concerns the risks incurred by a pacemaker wearer at their workstation in the presence of electromagnetic fields. A test bench capable of generating electromagnetic fields of the same type as those found in a professional environment has been created. Pacemakers were placed there, in an environment simulating the tissues around the heart. This work was supplemented by modeling. It made it possible to understand the mechanisms of action and to specify the parameters influencing the risk of disruption of the functioning of pacemakers: amplitude, frequency, pacemaker setting, type of electrode. Prevention messages are being developed.
