Conclusion
Interpretation of environmental media (IEM)

Carrying out an EMI is not a codified operation, but a process aimed at finding concrete answers to concrete questions. The aim is not so much to carry out "compliant" studies, but rather to provide elements of judgment to those in charge of managing situations that may pose a problem, and to provide the public concerned by these problems with the explanations they are entitled to receive.

To this end, the French Ministry of the Environment proposes an approach adapted to the discovery of a potentially problematic situation, based on tools including the IEM.

The approach consists in comparing the situation observed with a normal, risk-free reference situation, and measuring the difference. The reference situations to be considered and the method of comparison chosen are the keys to the approach, and cannot be predefined, allowing us to adapt...