INVESTIGATION
The Lubrizol factory was destroyed by the flames eleven days ago, and yet, in Rouen, the burning smell persists. And the population remains worried, especially as no official campaign of analysis has been launched. It must be said that the law does not provide any obligation to practice, after the fire of a Seveso plant, large-scale blood or urine tests. In the absence of such a protocol, for the time being there have been no tests carried out on the Rouen people at the request of the authorities.
The only ones who have had blood samples are the firefighters because they have been the most exposed. It is their occupational medicine that has organized a liver, kidney and blood test. Fire soldiers should suffer another one in 15 days and one last in six months. The results of these analyzes have not been made public at this time. Only dust analyzes found on their outfits were published. And they do not reveal traces of asbestos.
An association launches its own analysis campaign
However, residents want to know how much they could be impacted by toxic fumes. At least a dozen people went on their own to have blood tests done in private laboratories. It will be necessary to wait to know if the results are convincing and which substances they did seek precisely.
And then there is another initiative. From Tuesday, the association Respire launches its own sampling campaign: its 500 members from the Rouen region are invited to practice blood sampling with a precise prescription, developed by chemical experts. "It's about measuring: 1) dioxins, these carcinogenic components that are typical of fires, 2) PAHs, which are components that we call hydrocarbons, quite toxic and often very carcinogenic", explains Olivier Blond, the president of the association. "And finally, we will measure lead in the blood, in case there is contamination."
A site to publish the results of analyzes
One could imagine pushing the investigations on urine samples, but it would not bring much more than the blood. And for the analysis on the hair, it is necessary to know that the substances take much more time to arrive until there.
The association Respire will then set up, probably in the week, a website on which volunteers who wish to publish their test results, with the GPS point of their home. This will perhaps push other rouennes to go, in turn, analyzes.