“Nausea, permanent headaches”: in La Rochelle, the anger and concern of residents near a depollution site

The construction site is causing concern among local residents. In the city center of La Rochelle, a few meters from homes, workers have been working since the end of August. They are working to clean up a site where student and social housing are to be built. But since the work began, the lives of Claire and her family have changed.

“The constant dizziness, nausea, headaches… really, that never stopped, it didn’t go away with the medications. Respiratory difficulty with a real burning sensation in the trachea constantly”she describes to TF1 in the report at the top of this article.

We all realized that there are a lot of sick children

Claire

The mother then realizes that other people in the neighborhood are affected by the same symptoms. A discussion group is created. It currently brings together several hundred members. “There were more than 750 of us in this group, and so it was the first place where we all realized that there are a lot of sick children, and where we were obviously able to exchange our concerns”adds Claire.

The decontamination site of a former gas factory is indeed located in the middle of several educational establishments. A nursery school, a middle school and a high school are located nearby, bringing together more than 2,800 students. When they left class, many of them felt uncomfortable. “There are even people who changed schools, that I know, who left. And I know that there were sometimes six or seven of us who were absent”testifies a young girl.

Alert to the poison control center

In total, 450 people reported symptoms to the poison control center. The peak of calls occurred a month ago, when a vat containing toxic products was dug up. Since then, the construction site has been at a standstill. “They discovered a tank that is 500 m³. So you have to imagine, it’s about the size of a house, with hydrocarbons inside,” details with TF1 Benoît, member of the association “Zero toxic”.

Since then, some of these products have been stored in green bins, the evacuation of which is planned in the coming days. The residents are asking for an analysis of the dust from the construction site, which is found everywhere in the neighborhood. “My children told me that in fact, in the playground, they had fun tapping on the walls to make the dust fall, and playing with snow. As if it were snow falling in their playground, where they are supposed to be safe”Benoît is still indignant.

Polluting products, potentially carcinogenic

Among the polluting products on the site, we find naphthalene and benzene. Beyond a certain threshold, they can be carcinogenic. The decontamination company did not wish to answer TF1’s questions, but the Charente-Maritime prefecture certifies that this site does not present any risk. “Exposed to these levels of benzene and naphthalene, as measured, the impact was negligible in terms of risk of developing serious forms of cancer, leukemia, etc.”assures prefect Brice Blondel.

Some residents of the neighborhood nevertheless wonder why the construction site was not covered with a depression airlock, as was the case in Seine-Saint-Denis, on the construction site of the Olympic swimming pool before the Paris Olympics. . A huge tent thus prevented potentially toxic dust from leaving the site.

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But for the mayor of La Rochelle, this solution would also have disadvantages. “To build a dome, you have to make foundations. Well, that would lead to making relatively strong and deep foundations which could themselves generate odors. What I know is that there is no financial issue. We must do what needs to be done to the best of our ability.”insists Jean-François Fountaine. The town hall wants to take the time to do new analyzes to clean up the area as best as possible. But for the collective of local residents, the site can never be completely clean. Consequently, he requests the permanent cessation of the construction site.