Le Figaro Nice
On February 5, many Nice residents were attacked at dawn, in various places in the city, from the Ariane district to the port of Nice via the Cimiez district, the Libération, or even the old town and Pasteur hospital.
The people of Nice, or more precisely their sense of smell, victim of a nauseating olfactory nuisance.
Some picked up the smell of gas, rotten eggs and sulfur;
others smell of gasoline and hydrocarbons or even a burning smell.
A situation that could make you smile if these odors had not caused migraines, breathing difficulties and other irritations of the nose and eyes.
Not to mention that these scents hung in the air for more than a week.
On February 12, Atmosud (the air quality observatory in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region) observed a peak in nuisances, with more than 70 reports.
The next day, a measurement system was deployed in the affected districts of Nice.
“Among the compounds analyzed (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, hydrogen sulphide), the first results of the 24-hour samples taken on February 13 and 14 do not show levels different from the background concentrations recorded. on the witness point in L'Escarène (neighborhood not affected by nuisances)”
, reassures Atmosud in its latest report published on Friday.
And for good reason, the chemical and organic compounds analyzed present significant health risks if they are inhaled in too high a dose.
And Atmosud clarified that
“these results reflect the end of the episode of nuisance.”
As a precaution, the surveillance system was still maintained until February 19.
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Emission area
In addition, laboratory analyzes are still underway.
Their results will be communicated soon.
When it comes to the origin of odors, the mystery remains.
In order to determine the source, retroactive numerical simulations of the movement of the air mass above Nice were carried out by the observatory using the Simpac platform.
“From the position of the reports, the topography of the area and the wind data from Monday February 12 recorded at the Météo-France station in Rimiez, it is possible to determine the aerosol flows potentially causing the odors at each declared point
,” reports Atmosud.
The modeling thus carried out highlights the
“most probable”
emission zone , located in the neighboring commune of La Trinité, near the A8 motorway,
“with between 50 and 80% probability”
.
Sector in which, among other things, a cement plant and an incinerator are located.
Two sites which could be linked to the emission of bad odors.
For their part, the prefecture services are continuing their investigation with the DREAL services.
The modeling carried out highlights the “most likely”
emission zone
, located in the neighboring commune of La Trinité, near the A8 motorway,
“with between 50 and 80% probability” (zone in red ).
Atmosud