The management of polluted sites generally requires a detailed risk assessment, one of the key steps of which is the characterization of the environment and populations near the sites. Today, this step relies mainly on generic values that are sometimes very different from the local data and thus generate very high levels of uncertainty. ADEME which is involved in the remediation of abandoned polluted sites, initiated the present study, and IRSN, which has dealt with very similar issues, conducted it. To provide data support to those risk assessments, this partnership sought to identify discriminating criteria for the behavior and the structure of the French population. We organized the data thus collected into a computer tool to optimize their use by all those involved in managing polluted sites. This databank is also an information source for teachers, students and the general public.