A judicial investigation was opened after an oil spill by the ArcelorMittal site in Florange, Moselle, in a river, presented by the CGT as a release of hydrochloric acid, which the group contests, said Thursday the floor of Thionville. The prosecutor, Christelle Dumont, told AFP "that an investigation (was) in progress", without further details.
According to ArcelorMittal, on October 30, "an operation on our coke plant water treatment plant" caused "iridescence" in the Fensch tributary of the Moselle. The steel leader stated that "no acid releases (had) taken place" in the watercourse and that "acidity (pH) measurements at the point of discharge show that the values have remained in compliance with prescribed regulatory values ". But the CGT denounces a "deliberate" rejection of "400 liters of hydrochloric acid to 97%" in the river "following the mismanagement of an incident" at the coking plant, had reported Lionel Buriello, CGT delegate of the site mosellan of ArcelorMittal.
The mayor of Florange has filed a complaint
The mayor of Florange, Rémy Dick, and the Val de Fensch agglomeration community, who recorded fourteen oil spills by the steelmaker in the Fensch in two years, lodged a complaint.
In September, the Thionville Criminal Court discharged ArcelorMittal for the unauthorized dumping of wastewater on a slag near Hayange, presented by a former interim worker as a release of acid to strip steel. The prosecution appealed this decision.