The air pollution between health and environment (1958–1996) : The example of the Association pour la Prévention de la Pollution Atmosphérique (APPA), from its foundation to the Air Act of 1996

Résumé 0

The creation of the APPA, in 1958, was an answer to the poor management of air pollution by the French state, then in control of the various aspects of the reconstruction process and industrial development. The target assigned to the association was truly sanitary, aiming at preventing populations from suffering from the deleterious effects of the massive French industrialization, but the methods put forward were very technical. To deal with this objective, the APPA implemented various measurement networks based on health offices of many French cities. This orientation towards measurement and knowledge to objectify pollution diverted the attention from the actions undertaken by the Regional Committees in different areas in the context of municipal hygiene: control of boiler systems and car engines, anti-smoking campaigns, etc. This investment in favor of a technical vision of air pollution and its prevention has been growing with the support of the mining corps at the time of the creation of the Ministry of the Environment. It was not until the first reliable measurement results were collected that epidemiological studies demonstrated the influence of pollution on health and gave support to the LAURE, the Air Act of 1996. At the end of the 1990s, the context of air pollution changed completely, the actors multiplied and APPA’s measurement mission progressively disappeared in favour of the AASQA (Approved associations for monitoring air quality).