The Senate voted unanimously to set up a commission of inquiry into the Lubrizol factory fire in Rouen. Its 21 members will be appointed on Wednesday.
The Senate unanimously voted on Thursday the creation of a commission of inquiry "to evaluate the intervention of the State services in the management of the environmental, health and economic consequences of the fire of the factory Lubrizol " , a Seveso listed company, on September 26 in Rouen.
Composed of 21 members, the commission of inquiry, set up for a maximum of six months, will also look at the application of the rules to which classified facilities are subject "in order to learn the lessons on the prevention of technological risks" .
The LR group also said last week that three "big scientific firms" would be mandated to "accompany it in its work" .
Thursday, September 26, a huge fire destroyed 5 253 tons of chemicals at Lubrizol, a company classified Seveso high threshold. The fire also affected three warehouses of its neighbor Normandie Logistique which stored more than 9,000 tons of products on its site.
The causes of the fire are not yet known. The surrounding populations are worried about the health consequences and feel poorly informed, while farmers are seeing their production affected by the soot fallout from the chemical factory fire.
"We are voting on this resolution with both hands," said Seine-Maritime Senator Catherine Morin-Desailly, who lives in Rouen. "It must bring total transparency for the people of Rouen but also for the inhabitants of all the communes concerned," she added, notably about the "disarray of farmers and pastoralists" .
An information mission to the National Assembly
The National Assembly has set up an information mission, which held a first meeting on Wednesday. "With powers less broad than a parliamentary commission of inquiry that I called my wishes, it is nonetheless an instrument that can be effective if it acquires the necessary means , " said in his statement its president, Christophe Bouillon (PS), elected from Seine-Maritime.
He created an email address (transparencelubrizol@gmail.com) to allow "everyone to express themselves and raise the concerns of the population . "
A parliamentary commission of inquiry has more important prerogatives than an information mission. The persons it wishes to audition will thus be required to respond to the summons and to take an oath.
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Fire in Rouen. The Senate votes unanimously the creation of a commission of inquiryOuest-France.frENLARGE
