More than forty associations and individuals announced Monday in Lyon that they had taken legal action to obtain a study of the health risks linked to the “eternal pollutants” PFAS, used by the Arkema factory south of Lyon and sanctions against the ‘industrial .
A total of 37 residents living in the vicinity of the “chemical valley”, including representatives of 16 children, as well as 10 associations and unions, appeared before the Lyon court on May 25 as part of an “environmental criminal proceeding”. .
A “testicular cancer in a boy under two years of age”
Some plaintiffs suffer from “endocrine disorders” as well as “testicular cancer in a child under the age of two,” illnesses potentially linked to PFAS, attorney Louise Tschanz said.
The prosecution must examine the admissibility of the requests, before transmitting them if necessary to the liberties and detention judge, who will then have 48 hours to make a decision.
In a press release, Arkema said it was “not in a position” to comment on these requests, because it “has not yet received any communication.”
More “Pierre-Bénite’s site respects all the réglementations quantum à ses rejets industriels et est régulièrement contrôlé par les autorités”, insists the company, affirming that the site “ne fait l’objet d’aucun arrêté de mise en demeure à this day”.
“The anger of the neighbors has continued to increase”
“The anger of local residents has continued to increase” since the broadcast in May 2022 of a documentary on France 2 that warned of heavy contamination with these substances in the surroundings of the Arkema site in Pierre-Bénite (Rhône), he explained to the press Camille Panisset, local manager of the environmental association Notre affaires à tous.
The association is at the origin of the action against Arkema, to which others join, such as Alternatiba, the FSU, various groups of neighbors or peasants.
This includes blood sampling and analysis “paid for by Arkema” on breast milk or food from organic and non-organic producers to assess for contamination that “could have been avoided”, Ms Panisset insisted.
For a documentary aired on Monday, France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes requested 10 blood samples from voluntary residents, analyzes from a laboratory in Liège revealed a very strong presence of two PFASs.
According to France 3, Arkema has also carried out PFAS permeation analyzes on its own employees since the early 2000s. They show that in 2022 the blood level of one of the target PFASs is still 17 times higher than the national average, while the company stopped using it in 2016.
The plaintiffs also call on Arkema “to immediately stop its aqueous discharges containing PFAS at 1 kilo per month.”
A préfectoral arrest from 2022 to Arkema enjoining the arrest of the use of PFAS at the end of 2024. The industry then installed a permettant filtration station to drastically reduce the rejets, more les plaignants demanding that the eau is also traitée ahead Its use.
Source: BFM TV
