“Health agencies are far from understanding the situation”: Générations Futures returns to demonstrate in front of the Solvay factory, near Alès

Michel Tachon (à droite) et Florence Caumes (de dos), font partie de l’ONG Générations Futures. Midi Libre – ALEXIS BETHUNE

Ce mercredi 29 janvier, un rassemblement se tenait devant l’usine Solvay, à Salindres, pour soutenir les salariés licenciés et aborder la question des polluants éternels que produit l’usine.

On the occasion of the European week against PFAS, the Gard-Eau-PFAS collective organized a rally this Wednesday, January 29 in front of the Solvay factory. The goal was to come and support the employees and former employees of the factory, and to raise awareness about TFA, a dangerous pollutant according to the environmental NGO Générations Futures, a member of the collective, which is produced by the Salindroise factory. Around fifty people gathered on the bridge, in front of the factory gates.

“As citizens, we want answers”

In February 2024, Générations Futures published a study revealing, according to its results, alarming levels of many eternal pollutants in the waterways of the town. A study strongly contested, at that time, by the elected officials of the Alès urban area.

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Read also: “Let's stop saying that Salindres is the most polluted city in France!”: Alès elected officials are furious after the “eternal pollutants” scandal

The other people surprised were the factory employees. At the rally, Sofian, 38, a former Solvay employee, wanted to give his testimony. “We are unhappy to have been fired, but we are also citizens. And as citizens, we want answers“, he proclaimed.

Read also:Eternal pollutants: Solvay chemical plant near Alès to close, 68 jobs to be lost

Like others, he suffered the plant's layoff plan (the procedure for which began this month), and regrets the lack of medical follow-up by Solvay. “All our requests have remained unanswered.” Even though in December 2024, Cédric Cozo, union representative and employee of the plant, was already requesting a toxicology blood test. Since then, nothing has changed according to Sofian. “Our power is ridiculous compared to that of the industrialists…“

ARS Occitanie will intensify the search for PFAS in analyses

Since the publication of the NGO's study, Michel Tachon and Florence Caumes, both Gard members of Générations Futures, have criticized a lack of responsiveness from the health authorities: “We talk about public health, but the health agencies are far, very far from understanding the situation.” In addition to the repeated request for toxicological tests for former employees, it is above all a decontamination plan that is requested by the collective present today: “It is unthinkable to leave behind a hill of 35 meters of waste.“

The problem comes from higher up for the whistleblowers: “The manufacturers only seek to produce, they are irresponsible. And politicians are stuck between a rock and a hard place.” On December 31, the Occitanie Regional Health Agency (ARS) committed to conducting more frequent tests and focusing research on these eternal pollutants. A meager reward for activists: “That's it, we've discovered PFAS“, Michel Tachon jokes.

The Gard-Eau-PFAS collective will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, February 12, at 6 p.m., at the Bourse du travail in Alès. I subscribe to read the rest