Le Figaro Lyon
Commissioned more than a year ago, the report of the General Inspectorate for the Environment and Sustainable Development (Igedd) on perfluorinated pollution confirms the revelations of France 2 on the significant flow spilled by the Arkema plant by Pierre Benite.
About 3.5 tonnes of water containing perfluorinated type 6:2 FTS at a concentration of 1000 to 2000 micrograms per liter are discharged into the Rhône every year.
Very high levels
“testifying to a worrying situation”
, is alarmed by the report published on Friday, April 14.
Because these pollutants are said to be eternal because of their chemical stability, which makes
them “substances not degraded in the environment, persistent, mobile and bioaccumulable”
.
Human and animal contamination occurs mainly through the consumption of water, then food;
but also by inhaling air and dust.
"Their toxicity is still unknown, but harmful and toxic effects on human metabolism have been observed for several PFAS and their carcinogenic nature is suspected"
, according to Igedd.
Rhone fish unsuitable for consumption
Like eggs, Rhône fish have therefore been scrutinized for several months.
And after a first alert from the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations (DDPP) in the summer, a new study entrusted to the Departmental Fishing Federation confirmed high concentrations in the flesh of bleaks, pike and other zander.
Fish usually consumed and known for their potential to accumulate pollutants.
“These analyzes confirmed a much higher pollution downstream of the Pierre-Bénite dam, in a context of global impregnation
, observes Jean Pierre Faure, technical director of the Federation.
With concentrations 2 to 20 times higher depending on the species
.
And it is not necessarily the biggest fish that are most affected, some catfish are doing well.
"The more the fish grows, the less perfluorinated it contains"
, specifies Jean-Pierre Faure, emphasizing a difference with the PCB pollution of the 2010s for which the accumulation increased over the course of life.
“Certain species are able to metabolize and excrete certain perfluorinated compounds
,” he continues.
Point of convergence with PCBs however, the endocrine disturbances observed with reproduction difficulties and less abundant laying for example.
The port of Lyon also a source of perfluorinated
The Pierre-Bénite site is one of the few French black spots in terms of perfluorinated discharges.
The valley of chemistry is particularly affected with the presence of a second source, the Daikin factory, in much lower concentrations due to the existence of a relatively efficient treatment process.
A rarity today because if
“there are technologies making it possible to greatly limit industrial discharges of PFAS”
, according to the report,
“the elimination of PFAS before discharge into the aquatic environment appears to be poorly controlled today”
.
These substances are resistant to treatment in wastewater treatment plants and the use of activated carbon only allows them to be trapped without destroying them.
The Igedd specifies that
"former hydrocarbon fire sites where the fight against the fire required the use of foams containing PFAS"
, such as Lubrizol in 2019, but also the port Édouard Herriot of Lyon in 1987, are also the source of this pollution.
In addition to the half-dozen towns affected, even in schoolyards, around Pierre Bénite, the catchment area of the Garon, further south, is also polluted.
“There is no industry rejecting perfluorinated but there is contamination, which raises questions about its origin
, questions Jean Pierre Faure.
It could come from the drinking water network consumed by the inhabitants and then discharged into wastewater, or from the irrigation network,
.
Especially since we find some upstream in the market gardening region of Thurins,
"with a background noise equivalent to what we find in the Rhône, while it drains significantly more pollutants"
.
Vigilance for pond fishermen
The Dreal is continuing its studies on this subject but we are moving towards widespread pollution.
In the town of Charly, the mayor recommended on Saturday to fishermen not to consume fish from the Virieux pond.
Analyzes ordered from the Antea laboratory, like other surrounding towns, showed traces of PFAS, at reduced levels.
Drinking water analyzes have already shown contamination of certain collection points.
Nearly 90% of surface water operational control stations are contaminated in the Rhône Mediterranean Corsica basin, according to Igedd, and 9% have high levels.
While groundwater is less affected, 37% of control points are concerned, 42% in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
A 2011 report on PCB pollution already noted contamination of fish with perfluorides from Lyon to the Mediterranean throughout the Rhône.
"Little known, they have only become a subject of concern for the scientific community and the public authorities for about twenty years in the world and more recently in France"
, traces the Igedd.
The regulations are still incomplete, since a European directive must be transcribed by 2026 for drinking water, whereas there is none today.
In a recent presentation made to the communes of the Lyon basin, the fishing federation despaired of a
“systemic defect in the evaluation, detection, management of compounds of this type”
.
And to point to a
"navigation at sight"
as well as an
"ineffective institutional warning system"
generating
"heavy consequences"
.
The problem now seems taken into account, while we still find in the Rhône traces of a perfluorinated banned in 2009.