Local residents blame French chemical giant Arkema for contaminating the environment around its plant near Lyon.
In Pierre-Bénite, just south of Lyon, a plant belonging to French chemical giant Arkema has become the focus of accusations.
For decades, tonnes of PFAs, or so-called forever chemicals, have been released into the environment.
Ever since a journalistic investigation exposed the scale of the problem last year, local resident Thierry Mounib, the president of the Bien vivre à Pierre-Bénite association, has been looking for answers.
“Every day parents come to see me,” he says.
“And tell me ‘This is what’s going on in my family’. Some explained to me that ‘ [we] left Pierre-Bénite when our child died, aged 9, of testicular cancer. Could this have anything to do with PFAS?’
“Maybe. Because it’s a cancer that’s linked to PFAS.”
A recent local media investigation revealed alarming levels of contamination in the bloodof local residents. Thierry blames political inaction.
“Our elected representatives seek to reassure the population,” he says.
“What’s more, according to statements made by our MP, there’s no point in panicking the population anyway as we don’t have a solution.”
Legal action taken against Arkema
In soil, air, and water, these ultra-toxic and persistent perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are everywhere.
In the workers’ garden near the plant, conversations oscillate between concern and anger. Local residents and associations have launched legal action against Arkema, the first of its kind in France.
Their objective is to make the group pay for a long-term study of local residents’ health but also to obtain an immediate limitation of toxic discharges.
“Arkema has been producing PFAS since 1957,” says Camille Panisset, head of the Notre Affaire à Tous association.
“And according to the IGEDD (General Inspectorate for the Environment and Sustainable Development) report, 3.5 tonnes of PFAS are discharged into the Rhône every year. Since last October, following a prefectural decree, they have begun to filter it.
“Today we’re still at around ten kilos a month. In the summary proceedings, we’re asking for the level to be below one kilo.”
When contacted, Arkema declined to comment on the legal proceedings. The group points out that “French and European regulations are among the strictest in the world”.
At the European level, the REACH regulation governs the use of chemical substances and is soon due for revision. But in Brussels, the battle with industry is fierce, and the reform is behind schedule.
“Some perfluorinated substances have been banned by European legislation,” says Marie Toussaint, the French MEP from the Europe Ecology – The Greens group.
“But a large proportion, over 10,000 substances in the family, are still authorised in Europe today. In reality, we have very little control over the state of our water and soil, and over local residents who may be poisoned.”
In recent months, five European countries – the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden – have requested a ban on PFAs, a request which is currently being assessed. The battle looks set to be a long and difficult one.
