The Fiber Excellence plant in Tarascon is at the heart of an air pollution lawsuit -
Sylvain THOMAS / AFP
This Tuesday opens before the Tarascon Criminal Court the trial of the Fiber Excellence pulp mill.
This factory, which belongs to an Indonesian giant, has been accused by local residents for years of air pollution.
Justice will look into the air pollution generated by a Tarascon pulp mill in the Bouches-du-Rhône on Tuesday, owned by a large Indonesian group, denounced by its residents for years but never sanctioned.
Fiber Excellence, an Asia Pulp and Paper company, is referred to the criminal court for "emission of polluting substances", in particular heavy metals and nitrogen oxides gases.
The plant is Seveso classified because of its potential dangerousness.
Rotten egg smell
Fiber Excellence will also have to answer for "operation of an installation classified as non-compliant", "operation of pressure equipment despite an inspection having concluded that they are non-compliant" and "operation of an authorized classified installation without compliance with the general rules. and technical requirements ”.
Since its installation in the 1950s in Tarascon, the inhabitants of the region, as far as Arles, nearly 20 km to the south, have been used to the smells of gas, of rotten eggs, coming from the factory, testifies a report from the air quality watchdog Atmosud.
The site has also experienced several wood chip fires.
One of the most impacted private schools
A private school, neighboring Fiber Excellence, is among the most affected.
Atmosud installed a sensor there which noted, in 2018, "an average level of PM10 suspended particles among the highest compared to other measurement sites in the surrounding area or in the department".
"This production tool cannot operate within French and European production standards", asserts Philippe Chansigaud, president of the Association for the Defense of the Rural Environment (Ader), who considers that "the environmental problem of this factory is heavy ”.
"The problem is that they continued to pollute"
It is following complaints from residents that the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (Dreal) checked Fiber Excellence, establishing "a non-compliance with a number of regulations", according to a source. judicial.
For Philippe Chansigaud, “the problem is that they continued to pollute”.
"The prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône has issued a series of formal notices" against the company, "but never followed by sanctions", he denounces.
The Marseille gendarmerie research section was seized in 2016 with a preliminary investigation, which resulted in a referral to the company's criminal court.
Our pollution report
Fiber Excellence, acquired in 2010 by the Indonesian company Asia Pulp and Paper, employs around 270 people at the Tarascon site and, according to its website, has resulted in around 3,000 local and regional jobs ”.
Global stationery giant, Asia Pulp and Paper is singled out by Indonesian environmental associations, which denounce the enormous environmental damage caused by toxic fumes emanating from the group's factories.
He was also accused a few years ago of deforestation and forest fires by NGOs like Greenpeace.
Contacted by AFP, the direction of Fiber Excellence did not wish to communicate.
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Trial