In the Tetra-Médical affair, following the meeting of the monitoring committee of September 10, bringing together the municipality, State Services, occupational medicine, ex-employees, it is revealed that:“The ex-employees, accompanied by the TTLA law firm, made requests for recognition as an occupational disease not only for themselves but also for their children, following awareness of the impact of exposure to ‘parents’ ethylene oxide on children’s health.’
Tetra-Médical: environmental pollution
But the thunderbolt came from the discussions between the local residents’ defense committee present at this meeting and the State Services concerning environmental pollution and the ongoing security of the site of the former Tétra-Médical laboratory. .
“50 tonnes of ethylene oxide released into the air per year”
According to the press release:“Two questions remained unanswered: the measurement of past pollution (testimonies collected by local residents during their stay indicate 50 tonnes of ethylene oxide discharge per year for 25 years) and the evaluation of ‘possible residual pollution.’
On regulations concerning ethylene oxide, the press release specifies:“Annie Thébaud-Mony, INSERM researcher and president of the Henri Pézerat association, presented a synthesis of scientific knowledge. Based on testimonies collected from former employees, she took stock of their contamination conditions during the activity, but also of the health problems brought to her attention by the people concerned. She then presented the post-professional and post-exposure follow-up project currently being developed. This monitoring must be open to everyone, direct employees, but also temporary workers, subcontractors, interns.
The former employees present testified individually about their working conditions and the health consequences for themselves and their children. Victims of this collective poisoning, they reaffirmed their expectations regarding the current legal actions, but also the establishment of medical monitoring for all. Because exposure to ethylene oxide gas unfortunately affected well beyond a few workstations.
“Gas: average half-life of 220 days”
But the most worrying thing is that we always learn in this press release“that the ‘desorption’ phase during which the ethylene oxide gas escapes from the sterilized objects took place not in a sealed room but throughout the laboratory installations and, also, in the neighboring company Via Logistique. However, the persistence of the gas in the air is very tenacious: the half-life is on average 220 days. »
“A health disaster”
And to conclude:“Faced with what can be described as a health disaster, mobilization continues around three demands: post-exposure and post-occupational medical monitoring must be implemented as soon as possible, a specific occupational disease table must be created, taking into account all the pathologies induced by ethylene oxide, including those concerning children, in continuity with the ban on its use as a pesticide, ethylene oxide in sterilization activities must imperatively be prohibited.”
