They have been working on it for several years. Several years that they alert the company, the State, the local communities and their elected officials of the nuisances which they undergo: foul smells, headaches, irritated throat… And it has been several years that nothing happens. This Thursday, twelve residents and an association from Saint-Malo will face their nightmare in the courtroom of the correctional court of Saint-Malo. Her name ? Timac Agro. Owned by the Roullier group, this company has two factories in the privateer city where it produces animal meal and natural fertilizers. Local residents accuse him of polluting the air and hope to obtain compensation before the courts. Always silent, society will have to explain itself.
“Our goal is to put this Malouin scandal in the public square. There is opacity and contemptuous silence around this dossier, while many people suffer and are afraid ”. Lawyer of local residents, Virginie Le Roy came back up. This Thursday, she will try to plead the cause of the twelve plaintiffs and especially try to get answers from Timac Agro. “I would simply like an independent expert to be appointed to tell us whether or not there are abnormal releases, dust that escapes and pollutes the air. And let him tell us what to do to stop it, ”explains the council.
Discharges higher than the regulations
Beyond the pollution, the inhabitants accuse the company above all of the lack of transparency. In recent years, Timac Agro has been repeatedly demanded by the State and ordered to reduce its emissions of ammonia, a gas which is now known to be behind the creation of fine particles. In 2018, analyzes revealed releases six to twelve times higher than the regulations. Summoned to react, the company had not managed to significantly reduce its emissions and has been subject to reinforced controls since the start of the year.
In 2017, an air quality study conducted by the AirBreizh association had shown that the concentration of these particles was 10% higher in Saint-Malo compared to Rennes, which nevertheless has four times more inhabitants. “What decided us was to see the crazy alerts that came back to us from the residents of the Trichet wharf in particular. There are smells but there are mainly nausea, headaches, irritated throats. We want to put an end to this damage to health ”, continues Alain Guillard, member of the citizen association Osons Saint-Malo which attacked the Roullier group.
A very heavy weight in local employment
Let the millions of tourists who come to stroll on the ramparts of the medieval city reassure themselves, they risk nothing. But what about the locals who live here all year round? During the confinement, many were unable to leave their homes and saw their cars and windows covered in thick yellowish dust. If the facts seem to be proven, some are surprised not to see this subject more relayed, especially by local elected officials. Should we see the pressure from one of the city's first employers, present in more than 120 countries and whose turnover in 2017 was 2.5 billion euros? "I don't see any other explanation," said Alain Guillard.
When contacted, Timac Agro refused to express itself and was content to mention its "work in close consultation and in good understanding with the sub-prefecture and the DREAL". At the end of the year, the Roullier group had assured that there was "no health risk" and that work was being carried out in the factories. Impossible to find out more. "It is a silence that borders on contempt. It's a shame for such a group, which is a success. It is a pretty local jewel. All that is expected is a transparent dialogue, ”concludes lawyer Virginie Le Roy. A dialogue which will take place in front of a judge this Thursday.
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