Five years after the explosion at the Lubrizol factory in Rouen, the investigation is unable to determine the origin of the fire

Thursday, September 26, 2019. France learns of the death of Jacques Chirac. The inhabitants of the Rouen metropolitan area wake up with a vision of the apocalypse. Five years later, to the day, they have forgotten nothing. The immense plume of black smoke above their heads. The soot on balconies and cars. The debris of asbestos roofs in the gardens. The nauseating smell of burnt hydrocarbons. The stinging eyes and throats. The headaches. The closed schools. The sirens of the fire brigade… The Lubrizol chemical plant is on fire. A few days later, they will learn that the fire also ravaged the warehouses of the neighboring company, Normandie Logistique, and that it was ultimately 9,500 tons and not 5,000 tons of potentially dangerous products that burned.

Thursday, September 26, 2024. The Lubrizol united collective – which brings together unions, left-wing and environmentalist parties, environmental protection associations and the Union of Lubrizol victims – has arranged to meet at 6 p.m. in front of the Rouen courthouse. “so that justice does not [les] don’t forget » And “so that everything is implemented to lead as quickly as possible to an exemplary criminal trial”.

Justice does not forget them: according to information from Worldthe civil party associations in the case will be received in mid-November by the judges in charge of the investigation at the Paris judicial court. On the merits, they risk being disappointed: despite the indictment of Lubrizol, notably for “endangering the lives of others”, the prospect of a major trial is becoming more remote as the years go by. Entrusted to the public health division of the Paris judicial court, the criminal investigation is encountering several obstacles. One, in particular, seems insurmountable: determining the origin of the fire. According to information from Worldthe magistrates have come to terms with the fact that the investigation will not be able to establish the cause of the fire.

“No tangible and factual elements”

According to a source close to the case, hypotheses are mentioned but it is impossible to decide with certainty on one or the other despite the succession of expert reports. The most recent one (2023), entrusted to the National Gendarmerie Criminal Research Institute (IRCGN), favors “the hypothesis of a departure from the Lubrizol company”, in an outdoor storage yard near the Normandie Logistique warehouses. A ” assumption “ which is refuted by the American lubricant giant, which, since the beginning of the affair, has been blaming its neighbour for the start of the fire. Concerning the causes of the fire, IRCGN experts believe that there is no “ no tangible and factual elements useful for the manifestation of the truth”.

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