• Tweeter

  • republish

In particular, the expert will have to determine the environmental consequences of the fire at the Lubrizol plant in Rouen. REUTERS / Pascal Rossignol

Ten days after the fire that hit the Lubrizol plant in Rouen, while many questions remain about the circumstances of the fire and its health and environmental consequences, an independent expert has been appointed by the courts.

He is a specialist in chemistry and industrial products who has been appointed by the courts. It will be mandated to draw the environmental consequences of the fire Lubrizol plant in Rouen , including taking samples to preserve any evidence to analyze. His report is expected by 31 October.

This appointment comes as the amount of products gone up in smoke is revised upwards. So far, it was known that 5,250 tonnes of chemicals had burned in the plant. But the prefector announced yesterday that on the three buildings of the neighboring logistics company Normandie, which contained more than 9,000 tons of stocks, one was totally destroyed by fire and two others partially.

The quantity of products burned on this site and even the exact nature of these products are not known for the moment, even if the company says it does not store any explosive or dangerous product. Lubrizol and Normandie Logistique reject each other's responsibility for the origin of the fire, which has not yet been clearly established.

Called by the Minister of Ecological Transition to fully assume its legal obligations as well as monitoring the consequences of the fire, the CEO of Lubrizol pledged to participate in the repair of the said consequences, through a device still in place. study, but which, according to the leader, will be directed primarily to affected farmers and residents.