On December 12, 1999, the tanker Erika, carrying 28,000 tons of petroleum products, sank off the coast of Brittany. The fuel oil, having leaked from the tanks, drifted at sea until December 24, 1999, when the first deposits began to wash up on the French coastline. In the days that followed, the islands and coasts of five departments were contaminated over a 400-kilometer stretch, from southern Finistère to northern Charente-Maritime. As the pollution arrived, cleanup operations were launched at the affected sites at the instigation of local authorities. However, the known toxicity of the fuel oil spilled on the beaches raises questions about the short- and long-term health risks faced by vacationers who will visit these beaches during the upcoming summer season. At the request of the ministries responsible for the environment and health, a quantitative assessment of these risks was conducted in close collaboration by the Institute for Health Surveillance and the National Institute for the Environment and Industrial Risks. This assessment was based on the health risk assessment methodology developed in the early 1980s by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A campaign of on-site sampling and chemical analysis was conducted on representative beaches along the coastline, selected in collaboration with the health and environment departments of the DDASS in the five affected departments. The risks involved are quantified using realistic scenarios reflecting the exposure of adults and children on vacation while playing in the sand, swimming, or walking among the rocks, as well as that of adults engaged in professional activities on the beach. (R.A.)