The Rhône prefecture has warned of the high level of PFAS pollutants, perfluorinated compounds, found in eggs collected from private chicken coops in Oullins and Pierre-Bénite, south-west of Lyon, calling not to consume them.
It extends this recommendation to the neighboring towns of Saint-Genis-Laval and Irigny.
The samples, taken “as part of environmental monitoring carried out by state services” revealed levels of PFAS, known as “eternal pollutants”, eight to 16 times higher than the regulatory values, according to a press release published Tuesday evening.
"The presence of these PFAS in the eggs could be explained by the contamination of the soil: by pecking, the hens become contaminated, and then contaminate their eggs", explains the prefecture.
In Pierre-Bénite is notably the site of the chemist Arkema, where activists from Extinction Rebellion (ER) had carried out an action in December to denounce "environmental pollution".
The plant is located in what is known as “the valley of chemistry”.
🔴 Action in progress: Arkema eternal scourge
✊ Hundreds of rebels from @xr_lyon occupy the premises of @Arkema_fr in #Lyon to denounce the pollution of the environment and the poisoning of local residents by the perfluorinated agents produced by this site industrial ☠️#Arkema pic.twitter.com/boKpYXJHkJ
— Extinction Rebellion France 🐝🌺 (@xrFrance) December 17, 2022
On Tuesday, France unveiled its action plan against PFAS, and showed its support for a project to restrict their manufacture and use carried by several European countries.
Among the measures announced, the government unveiled a “procedure for identifying industrial sites potentially emitting significant quantities of PFAS”.
The Arkema site in Pierre-Bénite must be a "forerunner" of this process of identification and reduction, it was specified during the announcements by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
The Metropolis of Lyon wishes to create an "Eco-citizen Institute"
In the Rhône, the prefecture recommends not consuming the eggs produced and not consuming the flesh of poultry.
The Métropole de Lyon welcomed the government's action plan but regretted that it was "still too unambitious", in a press release taken up by Lyon Mag.
The community “wants to become a pilot site for priority action, asks for more transparency and considers it essential to carry out an epidemiological study”.
It calls for the creation of an "Eco-citizen Institute which can monitor the pollution of industrial sites in the Chemical Valley and its potential impacts on health", "in partnership with citizens, communities, certain industrialists, scientific experts and chambers of industry".
Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) are a family of synthetic chemical compounds comprising more than 4,700 molecules, some of which are suspected of having a harmful impact on health.
They owe their nickname to their very long life cycle.
