The Sambre river, in the North (illustration).
-
Thibaut Chevillard
Since August 31, the Sambre River has experienced episodes of pollution.
Its waters are tinged with an orange color, proof of the presence of ferrous material.
A company near Maubeuge is in the sights of the authorities.
What we know is that we don't know anything.
At the end of last August, the residents of the Sambre, near Maubeuge, in the North, noticed that their river was tinged with orange during the night.
A rather abnormal color which immediately aroused the suspicions of pollution.
Since then, these episodes have followed one another without the authorities having been able to determine with certainty the origin.
However, several avenues are being studied.
Between August 31 and last Thursday, the waters of the Sambre took on an orange hue on three occasions.
Episodes that lasted several days each time, the pollution fading over time.
Analyzes of samples taken by agents of the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) "confirmed that they were suspended solids loaded with iron", quickly declared the prefecture of the North, specifying moreover that this was not dangerous "for flora and fauna".
Tata Steel in the sights
A good point, we are not starting from scratch.
On the other hand, it will prove to be much more complicated to find the origin of the mystery.
State services have targeted companies located upstream of the pollution, in particular the classified installations of Tata Steel Maubeuge, whose core business is, precisely, ferrous metals.
The firefighters had also noted, on September 7, the presence of "a sedimentary deposit of about 10 m² at the bottom of the stream and near the Tata Steel facilities", continues the prefecture.
A deposit that may be old, "no accidental or deliberate release being detected during these two visits to Tata Steel" by the Dreal inspectors.
Two other companies were inspected, to no avail.
After the second pollution episode observed on September 10, the Tata Steel company was again questioned.
According to the prefecture, the investigations carried out "made it possible to exclude releases from this site" without, however, leading to the identification of the source.
For the last episode, which dates back to last Thursday, the inspectors "noted an orange plume at the exit of a discharge point for industrial water and storm water from Tata Steel", recognize the state services.
It is also specified that "non-conformities" were noted from September 7 on the management of rainwater on the site.
So, whose fault is it?
In fact, we still don't know.
The North Prefecture ensures "that no direct link has been established between the coloring of the Sambre and the activity of Tata Steel".
It will be up to the company itself to ensure that this does not happen again, in particular by carrying out surveillance rounds of its stormwater drainage system.
Society
Installation of antennas, personal data ... The true from the false on 5G
Lille
Pas-de-Calais: Polluting ships tracked down in the strait by a drone
Environment
Pollution
Water
Planet