The French chemical group Kem One, European N.2 in PVC, was sentenced by the Marseille criminal court to a fine of 50,000 euros for the leak in 2020 of some 300 m3 of ferric chloride, a chemical, in the Mediterranean.
At the hearing on June 5, a fine of 200,000 euros had been requested against the group, the subject of complaints from various environmental associations and the Martigues City Council, where this company classified as a “high threshold” Seveso is located, within the Lavéra petrochemical complex. .
“insufficient” controls
On the night of July 22-23, 2020, a leak was detected in a ferric chloride solution storage tank. A part had ended up in the rainwater and another in a retention tank. However, this one, too small and only partially coated with an anti-corrosion product, had caused a second leak.
The group, which reached a turnover of 1.4 billion euros in 2021, will also have to publish a press release about this decision for two months on its website and publish it in the monthly L’Usine nouvelle and the newspaper Les Echos. Kem One will also have to pay sums to the various associations and to the city of Martigues, whose civil party applications have been considered admissible.
No swimming for two days at the time.
During the incident, which lasted more than 10 hours, up to 330 m3 of this highly corrosive chemical, used in particular for wastewater treatment, was released into the sea. A brownish acid solution had appeared on contact with the water, forming a toxic spill in the Mediterranean.
As a preventive measure, the local authorities had prohibited bathing for two days on the adjacent beaches, which are very crowded at this time of year, and prohibited anchoring and fishing in the area. In addition to the death of several fish, sea urchins or a gannet, a protected species, many posidonias had suffered this incident.
“This sentence and its publicity remind all the manufacturers of Martigues/Lavera and Fos-sur-Mer that they must take all the necessary technical and operational measures to prevent contamination and protect the populations,” the association reacted in a press release. Robin desBois. . Contacted, Kem One did not immediately react.
Source: BFM TV
