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Neither the causes nor the long-term environmental and health consequences of the fire of the Norman chemical factory, which occurred in the middle of the night Thursday, September 26, were not established at midday Saturday, September 28th. Residents and farmers, concerned in a large area, do not hide a serious concern about the deposit of soot and oily black on crops and habitats. Several complaints were seized. This Saturday 28 at 17h, the prefect of Seine-Maritime Pierre-André Durand provides press conference of " the usual state of the air quality in Rouen " and a " normal situation ".
What do we know about the fire?
A fire broke out on September 26, 2019 around 2:40 in the company Lubrizol, located quai de France in Rouen (Seine-Maritime), on the Seine. That night, about 11,000 m² of factory warehouse went up in smoke, representing 10% of the total surface of the site. The flames were controlled several hours later thanks to the intervention of more than 200 firefighters.
A thick plume of smoke, more than 20 km long and 6 wide, whose toxic content is currently being discussed, rose towards the northeast on Thursday morning . He poured on his way a shower of sooty black soot particles, which the inhabitants found in their environment in the early morning. The media also reported a pungent and persistent odor.
In the agglomeration of Rouen, oil residues are everywhere deposited #Lubrizol (photos by J. Giet) pic.twitter.com/13IyvGylsM
France 3 Normandy (@ f3htenormandie) September 26, 2019No direct victims were deplored. A total of 51 people visited health facilities Rouen Thursday and Friday morning because of the fire, including five, adults who already had respiratory conditions previously, were hospitalized, said Friday noon Samu.
The causes of the incident are not yet known. The boss of the Lubrizol factory, Frédéric Henry, meanwhile expressed this Saturday morning his astonishment about the probable circumstances of the departure of fire. " I am very surprised to see a fire that starts like that, in the middle of the night, in a place where there is no one, " he said at the microphone of Europe 1. This questions me enormously, I do not can not understand why. We must not dismiss anything, but it is very surprising. "
What did the Lubrizol factory produce?
Lubrizol France exists since 1954, explains the company on its website, and " produces additives for lubricants: motor oils and other transport fluids, additives and fluids for industrial lubricants and additives for gasoline and diesel fuel " . It is owned by the US chemicals group Lubrizol Corporation, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire's holding company and famous US investor Warren Buffett. 400 people work on the Rouen site - there are two other sites, in Le Havre and Mourenx in the Pyrenees.
In the European Union, since a disaster in Italy in 1976 in Seveso, industrial sites at risk have been classified according to an eponymous directive. The purpose of this legislation is to prevent major accidents (explosion, fire, leakage of toxic substances into the air or water ...) or to reduce the consequences, taking into account the chemical substances that are there present, through security measures and procedures. Legislation also aims to inform the public, a point largely reinforced by the Seveso III Directive, which entered into force in 2015.
According to the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition, France has 1,312 Seveso classified sites. They are divided into two levels of risk, high threshold and low threshold, depending on the amount of hazardous materials present. 705 are on high, Lubrizol is one of them. The hazard survey of Seveso high threshold establishments must be refreshed at least every five years.
What are the reasons for concern?
The radioactive danger was quickly dismissed. The site of the prefecture of Seine-Maritime is clear on this point: " The plant does not store radioactive products for production purposes. Some measuring instruments, under seal, contained radioactive elements and were not exposed to fire or degraded. They were checked later. "
However, the reasons for concern are real, confirmed several professionals, especially about long-term toxicity and surrounding crops.
Authorities dismissed Thursday any risk of " acute toxicity ". The prefecture noted from the initial analyzes " an absence of hydrogen sulfide, a single value of sulfur oxide measured and low values of nitrogen oxide. These are classic carbonaceous substances that are always found in fire fumes . "
But the next day, Agnès Buzyn, Minister of Health, acknowledged the existence of a health risk. " The city is clearly polluted " by the soot that must not be touched without protection, she said in a press conference after a visit to the devastated factory. " It's a plant that produces hydrocarbons : even if they are not in large quantities, even if they are very close to the thresholds, it is never good for the population to touch this kind of products. "
Annie Thébaud Mony, an honorary research director at Inserm interviewed by AFP, fears the long-term toxicity of the smoke plume, which has measured up to 22 km long. Soot is " very dangerous toxic products ," according to the researcher. " The worry is absolutely legitimate. This cloud that has passed over Rouen is loaded with highly toxic dust that is at least carcinogenic, "said the scientist who specializes in occupational cancers. " The prefect does not lie when he says that there is no" acute toxicity "of the cloud, but he can not rule out toxicity in the long term, " adds the scientist, noting that the carcinogenic risk exists even for a short exposure.
Another reason for concern was that the roof of the calcined building contained asbestos. Finally, uncertainties remain about the contamination of the waters of the Seine that cross the city. Oil pellets have been reported.
How does the population react?
The local population is shocked and largely reflects their concern. " We are entitled to know what we breathe when we observe the foul fog floating above the site ... It's far from reassuring ... ", testifies well ChristopheDenis7 on the chat of Paris-Normandy , Saturday morning.
A strong smell lingered in the air on Friday, causing nausea and vomiting for some.
Farmers, even several tens of kilometers away, are suffering from this accident and are already anticipating by taking samples, as RFI explains Sophie Lacaisse, a farmer:
We take samples of milk regularly. Water samples were taken from the outside drinking troughs. And it is planned that we take samples at the level of the earth, in our grasslands. We brought in our dairy cows, so we increase production costs. We were lucky we had ensiled corn the day before, so our corn was covered
Sophie Lacaisse: "a veto immediately put us on alert:" take samples by bailiff "» 28/09/2019 - by Pauline Gleize Play
Faced with somewhat contradictory statements by the authorities - no acute toxicity but reassuring safety instructions and policemen dressed in gas masks - it is the disarray that dominates the peasants, as shown in this report of the World , or as Sophie Lacaisse says:
What we do not understand is the speech of the prefecture: "it's not dangerous, there's no problem", but the prefecture and the chamber of agriculture tell us moreover: "get your animals of rent, avoid giving them to drink rainwater and stop the corn yards, but it is not toxic "[...] Lubrisol, it's still not the first time there is worry. We must not leave it there, it's not possible. We will not wait for the results of our analyzes and if there is need to knock out, we will knock out
Sophie Lacaisse 28/09/2019 - by Pauline Gleize Play
The Rouennais do not remain without reaction. Protection first, with masks on the face to try to filter the particles.
Several have already decided to file a complaint against X. About fifty people demonstrated in front of the prefecture Friday, chanting: " we want the truth! ". An investigation has been opened to understand the origins of the fire, but some ask to go further. On the internet, a petition of 25,000 signatures hosted on Change.org , called for a " health and environmental survey on the consequences of the Lubrizol fire ".
What are the safety instructions?
On Thursday, faced with the enormous plume of black smoke and smoke that rose from the site, the state, through the prefecture, issued the first "recommendations" (not mandatory or coercive) to the attention of the agricultural sector in the affected area. Breeders are encouraged to take their animals underground, secure their feed and limit grazing on virgin soot debris. Farmers are asked to suspend harvests and silage operations so as not to store polluted materials .
Finally for individuals with a garden, it is " advisable not to consume vegetables and fruits from the garden that can not be peeled or thoroughly washed ."
What do the authorities say?
In a press conference held late Saturday afternoon, the prefect of Seine-Maritime Pierre-André Durand confirms the first analyzes: " the usual state of the air quality in Rouen " and a " normal situation ". The prefect also mentions the presence of lead, but not necessarily due to the fire of the Lubrizol site; it also confirms the presence of asbestos.
Regarding farmers, " crop productions not harvested should not be ." Harvested products, such as milk and honey, " will have to be recorded " pending the assessment of health risks, which the State representative has downplayed.
The results of the analyzes had to be put on line on the site of the prefecture in the hours following the press point.
A controversy has focused both on the management of the crisis by the authorities that some consider late and not very transparent, and the minimalist coverage, or absent, national media , focused Thursday on the death of President Chirac.
The first government official to go there Thursday at 11:40 , is Christophe Castaner, Minister of the Interior. The next day, Agnès Buzyn and Élisabeth Borne held a press conference. " I understand the population (...) the products can be irritating at the moment, " tempered the health minister Agnès Buzyn after visiting the factory devastated. There are " no abnormal pollutants in the samples taken, " assured the Minister of ecological transition Elisabeth Borne, at his side. The government promises transparency .
The Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, also assured on the spot that the schools and establishments, closed at the end of the week, will reopen Monday after complete cleaning of the soot .