More than forty associations and individuals announced on Monday June 5 in Lyon that they had taken legal action to obtain a study of the health risks linked to “eternal pollutants”, perfluoroalkylated substances (Pfas), or perfluorinated, used by the Arkema plant south of Lyon. They also want to obtain sanctions against the industrialist.
>> Pollution: in the suburbs of Lyon, the town of Pierre-Bénite “seriously contaminated” by “eternal” pollutants released by the Arkema factory
A total of 37 residents living around the “chemical valley”, including representatives of 16 children, as well as ten associations and unions, seized the Lyon court on May 25 as part of an “environmental criminal summary “. The objective is for Arkema to finance analyzes on the population concerned. Me Louise Tschanz is bringing this action on behalf of 37 individual plaintiffs and ten NGOs, including Notre affaires à tous. “It’s really essential to do it, especially the blood tests, because that’s what will prove the impregnation of the population, she indicates. Because of course, everyone has Pfas, but at what rate? This is what is extremely important. If there are very high rates in the child who had testicular cancer, of course, we can make a causal link.
“There is a lot of scientific literature today and it is now known that there are six proven diseases that have a link between Pfas and diseases found in men, including testicular cancer and diseases thyroid.”
Me Louise Tschanzat BlazeTrends
Local residents are demanding these blood tests and the most determined are grouped together in the Bien vivre à Pierre-Bénite association, chaired by Thierry Mounib. “According to the documentary of the program Vert de rage, it is 83 times the European standards, the latter fumes. And according to the companies chosen by the municipalities to carry out a counter-expertise, in a way, there is almost nothing and therefore the children can continue to play! We want the truth on this.”
Arkema, located in Pierre-Bénite, at the gates of Lyon, has been rejecting eternal pollutants for decades. The air, the soil, the waters are contaminated. Since the investigation of the program Vert de rage, in collaboration with Special Envoy, the authorities have reinforced the measures. They now recommend not consuming fish caught in the Rhône, downstream from Pierre-Bénite, nor eggs from chicken coops in 17 municipalities.
“Why doesn’t the state protect us?”
Serge Perrin lives in Saint-Fons: “We were very happy to be able to offer our organic eggs to our grandchildren, he explains bitterly. And when we read the newspaper and we discover that they are likely to be contaminated, it is not pleasant. We were asked to bring these eggs to the town hall to have them analyzed. We will have the result at the end of June. It’s scary. Why doesn’t the state protect us citizens?
Arkema is committed to stopping the use of Pfas by the end of 2024. “This does not cancel the interest of our request”say the plaintiffs, given the peculiarity of these ultra-persistent chemical compounds.