“We worked a lot in silence, and we moved forward” assures Serge Plana, of Committee for the defense of residents living near Tetra Médical Annonay, “a testimony and a document show that the company released 50 tons of toxic waste into the atmosphere over 25 years”. Since the light risks of occupational illnesses that weigh on former laboratory employeesthe residents of the site have never hidden their concerns. They too want to know if they have been exposed to ethylene oxide, this toxic and carcinogenic gas used by the laboratory throughout its years of activity. They are asking for the State to take charge of conducting in-depth research and want to integrate the ongoing legal proceedings.
Serge Plana says that the collective of local residents are relying on solid arguments. “Among the testimonies we collected during our visits, there was one from the partner of a former manager of the company, who claimed that 50 tonnes of toxic waste per year was rejected by the company” he says. But where does this figure come from?
A 2006 DRIRE report
“It’s not us who made this calculation” explains Dominique Wojylac, also from the local residents’ collective. It is based on a 2006 report from the DRIRE, the Regional Directorate for Industry, Research and the Environment Rhône-Alpes. This is an inspection visit. Indeed, it is written that according to the laboratory’s declarations, “a release of 50 tonnes per year of ethylene oxide into the atmosphere” is observed. These toxic discharges were not treated until the mid-2000s. “The company Tetra Médical decided in 2001 to treat these effluents. Several processes were studied and, in 2005, two suppliers were selected” further clarifies this report. “The first declarations of ethylene oxide storage date back to the 1980s. The company was already in the Lombardière area in Annonay” explains Dominique Wojylac.
“It’s a problem, no matter how much.”
However, this figure of 50 tonnes is not yet officially retained by the prefectural and health authorities. There is no precise methodology for measuring the amount of ethylene oxide released into the environment around the laboratory during its years of operation. First, because the persistence of the gas in the air is on average 220 days – et the laboratory has been liquidated since 2022. In addition, the information concerning these potential emissions is only based on declarative information. The health authorities did not carry out specific checks.
For Annie Thébaud-Mony, researcher at INSERM and specialist in the file, contacted by France Bleu Drôme Ardèche, “a factory does not have to release toxic gas into the atmosphere of local residents. We know that it is a problem, whatever the quantity”.
A judicial investigation was opened for endangering others, involuntary injuries, risk of exposure to toxic chemical agents without a proper risk assessment in particular. It is the public health center of the Marseille prosecutor’s office which took up the matter Tetra Medical. Furthermore, a decision before the Annonay industrial tribunal is expected on October 29, 150 employees demand 20,000 euros from the former laboratory for anxiety damage.
