Paris (AFP)

Nearly a month after the fire of Lubrizol factory in Rouen, the CEO of the American group, Eric Schnur, must be heard Tuesday by MPs and senators, while the same day begins the evacuation of 160 damaged drums on the site.

While in Rouen interrogations and worries about the consequences of the disaster persist, the parliamentarians begin their hearings on the fire which, on September 26th, ravaged the factory classified Seveso high threshold.

Eric Schnur first appears in the morning before the information mission of the National Assembly, then the afternoon before the Senate inquiry committee.

Senators created this commission, unanimously of the groups, in order to "evaluate the management of the environmental, health and economic consequences" of the incident.

It is for them in particular to "shed light on the management of the consequences of this accident by the State services".

The commission, chaired by the centrist senator of Eure Hervé Maurey, plans to propose, if necessary, "concrete solutions to improve the rules for preventing industrial accidents and managing these events."

After the hearing of Mr. Schnur, the commission of senatorial investigation planned to go Thursday in Rouen to visit the site and establish "a first contact" with the stakeholders.

For its part, the National Assembly formed an information mission on the fire, chaired by the Socialist deputy of Seine-Maritime Christophe Bouillon.

After receiving Mr. Schnur, she will continue her hearings on Wednesday with a number of local officials, including the regional director of the environment, the director of the Regional Health Agency, the director of the departmental services of fire and rescue ( SDIS) and elected officials including the mayor of Rouen Yvon Robert.

Some 5,253 tons of chemicals were burned in the Lubrizol plant, as well as 4,250 tons of products in warehouses of the neighboring Normandie Logistique, also affected (including 1,691 tons also from Lubrizol).

On site, the removal of drums at risk must start Tuesday and should last two months, a day operation and off weekends.

A judicial inquiry is under way to determine the causes of the fire. Searches were conducted in the administrative offices of Lubrizol and Normandie Logistique.

- Compensation -

Eric Schnur promised, in an interview in Le Figaro on October 5, to "help farmers as soon as possible (...) affected by the consequences of the fire" and "the populations penalized and impacted by the disaster" .

The company has announced, according to Les Echos, the establishment of a solidarity fund ("Lubrizol Solidarity"), to help including farmers, which would be up to 50 million euros.

On the side of the government, the minister of the ecological transition Elisabeth Borne affirmed that the company Lubrizol "will have to compensate" all those who suffered the consequences of the fire. "We are on a polluter-pays principle," said Borne.

The Minister of Agriculture Didier Guillaume has promised full compensation to farmers. He had estimated their damage "between 40 and 50 million euros" on 11 October when setting up a "committee for transparency and dialogue" in Rouen.

Friday, his ministry announced the lifting of the last restrictions of sale of agricultural products, honey, eggs or fish of breeding ... decided after the fire. Close and long-term monitoring is however maintained, especially for milk.

These restrictions had been put in place in many municipalities of Seine-Maritime and the Hauts-de-France region, where soot from the fire had settled.

© 2019 AFP