The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Rouen: the Lubrizol company again indicted for environmental damage

2021-09-16T13:09:32.471Z


Two years after the fire at its factory, Lubrizol is again targeted by the justice system, this time for dumping harmful substances.


Lubrizol has not finished worrying Rouen.

A few days before the second anniversary of the huge fire at its factory in the Norman capital, the Lubrizol company was again indicted on Tuesday for environmental attacks, a judicial source said on Thursday, which thereby confirms information from 76actu .

Two charges are brought against the company.

"The Lubrizol company was indicted on September 14 on charges of dumping harmful substances into water and discharging substances harmful to fish into fresh water", specifies the judicial source.

Read also Lubrizol fire in Rouen: one year later, the anger has not subsided

For Simon de Carvalho, who chairs the Association des sinistrés de Lubrizol (ASL), civil party, "the case is very solid concerning these two new facts".

Its content "is based on numerous samples and analyzes in the dock, with enough elements to speak of acute toxicity, it affects fish but it is risky for humans too", he continues.

For all the associations and groups formed after the fire, this new indictment shows that their fears are taken seriously.

"It is a satisfaction, our associations do not stop trying to prove that there is pollution," said Christophe Holleville, secretary of the Union of victims of Lubrizol.

10,000 tonnes of chemicals gone up in smoke

The Lubrizol company, of which neither the management nor the lawyer could be contacted immediately for a comment, was indicted for the first time on February 24, 2020. The head of “spillage of harmful substances” was already in existence, and then was added that of "non-compliant operation of a classified installation" having caused environmental damage.

The company was then criticized "for not having taken all measures to prevent the significant spread of the fire and the resulting environmental damage," said a source familiar with the matter.

Placed under judicial supervision, the group had to pay a bond of 375,000 euros and constitute a "security" of 4 million euros aimed at repairing "human and environmental damage" possibly attributable to the fire.

VIDEO.

Rouen fire: the Lubrizol factory blaze filmed by a drone

The Lubrizol fire, which occurred on September 26, 2019 on an automotive lubricants site classified as Seveso high threshold, affected some 10,000 tonnes of chemicals.

The fire did not cause any casualties, but a huge cloud of black smoke 22 km long had formed.

The Normandie Logistique company, whose warehouses adjoining the Lubrizol factory had also been destroyed by the incident, had for its part been placed under the intermediary status of assisted witness.

Lubrizol has been under the control of American billionaire Warren Buffett since 2011, via his holding company Berkshire Hathaway, which bought the group for $ 9.7 billion.

Source: leparis

All tech articles on 2021-09-16

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.