Latex pollution was detected this Friday, November 8 in the Meuse near the commune of Mouzon (Ardennes). According to the prefecture, it was the Adler Pelzer factory, an automobile equipment manufacturer, which accidentally dumped into the river almost two tons of this liquid.The firefighters went to the site and as latex is very miscible in water, they considered that it was not relevant to deploy their absorbent device.
If the risk to human health has been ruled out, the Ardennes prefecture specifies that latex can prove toxic for certain fish. The French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) took water samples which will now be analyzed. In the meantime, as a precaution, the prefect forbids, by decree, to consume fish caught in the Meuse between Mouzon and Givet until November 24.
The Fishing Federation files a complaint
According to the Ardennes Fishing Federation, this “white” pollution is visible over nearly 3 kilometers and represents a real problem for the development of fish food and therefore future reproduction. The president of the Federation Michel Adam specified this Saturday, November 9 that he had decided to file a complaint, as he does for each episode of pollution of this magnitude, especially since this is not the first time that the company de Mouzon is implicated.
The consumption of fish in the Meuse and Semoy had already been banned by an order from the Ardennes prefecture for several months until September 30, 2024 following an episode of pollution in February from a company in Belgium.
