A steel factory put on notice after pollution episodes

The Sambre river as it passes in front of the Tata Steel factory, in Louvroil, in the North.

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Irregularities on the installations.

The company of the steelmaker Tata Steel in Louvroil, near Maubeuge, in the North, has been ordered to comply, we learned Thursday from the prefecture.

Three episodes of pollution of the Sambre River had been observed in recent weeks.

On August 31, September 10 and September 25, the river was colored an orange hue for a few kilometers, leading the authorities to undertake a series of surveys and analyzes to determine the "nature and origin" of this pollution.

Several irregularities around the site

The analyzes carried out by the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) had made it possible to conclude that there was "suspended matter loaded with iron, explaining the orange color", not dangerous for fauna and flora.

But several irregularities were noted around the Tata Steel site.

The most recent, September 25.

An “orange plume at the exit of a discharge point” of rainwater was discovered, according to a prefecture decree dated October 2 and spotted Thursday by

.

In addition, "the latest analyzes carried out on the rainwater" discharged, carried out in April 2020, "show exceedances in relation to the planned emission limit values", in particular concerning the iron concentrations (nearly twice as high on the one of the analysis points), in zinc and nitrogen, specifies the decree.

"Illegible, unusable, incomplete"

The operator was "unable to provide any checks carried out" on the pipes, the network plan provided to the authorities is "illegible and unusable" and the "process water collection plan" is "incomplete", the prefecture still notes.

It therefore calls on the company to comply with its legal obligations: "to properly clean the roads", "to carry out an examination of the pipes and its effluents in order to ensure their good condition and their tightness" as well as a "plan complete networks ”within a maximum period of 15 days.

Possible administrative sanctions

The prefecture also enjoins the company to "respect the discharge limit values" for nitrogen, iron and zinc.

In the event that these obligations are not met, "administrative sanctions may be taken against the operator (...)" which may go as far as "the closure or removal of the installations or the permanent cessation of work. », According to this decree.

After a legal marathon, Tata Steel appeared last month in court in Avesnes-sur-Helpe for pollution of the Franco-Belgian river Hogneau in May 1992. The decision is due on November 3.

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