11 unions and associations point the responsibility of industry and the state

They call for a burst after the disaster of 26 September 2019, in Rouen: that morning, a huge fire destroyed 5 253 tonnes of chemicals at Lubrizol, a chemical company ranked Seveso high threshold. The fire also affected three warehouses of its neighbor Normandie Logistique which stored more than 9,000 tons of products on its site. Trade unions or associations, the eleven signatories of the forum, published by franceinfo Thursday, October 17, denounce negligence and inadequacies and point a lack of transparency. And beyond Lubrizol, they call for a jump in the industrial risk management policy.

---

The industrial and environmental disaster which took place on the night of 25 to 26 September 2019 in Rouen highlights and in many ways the permanent dangers that the industries represent when they neglect their obligations in terms of protection against the dangers inherent in their activities.

These culpable negligence puts employees, populations and ecosystems at great risk in the short and long term.

Accidents like this are a disaster both human and ecological.

In order to continue to satisfy its shareholders enough profitability, the industry, like other sectors of the economy, is cutting its endless "costs" on the backs of workers: the multiplication of subcontracting, precariousness, downsizing and equipment, non-compliance with safety rules …

Lubrizol, one of the leading chemical companies, is present in America (56 sites), Europe (45 sites), the Middle East (7 sites) and Asia (33 sites). Founded in 1928, Lubrizol is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, an investment company run by Warren Buffet, one of the largest billionaires on the planet, with Bill Gates on its board.

The Rouen plant has been located since 1951. The Seveso site has a "high threshold" like 705 others in France out of the 1,312 Seveso sites. It has already experienced several incidents, including a mercaptan cloud in 2013, which resulted in a simple referral to the police court and a ridiculous fine of 4,000 euros.

It is the responsibility of the management of the company that is involved in this accident, in terms of securing the entire site, its staff, as well as outsourcing. It is she who, with the approval of the prefect, has opted for minimal security by reducing the number of security and surveillance.

If the initial elements of the investigation that opens can lead to think that the fire started in a storage area entrusted to a cleaning contractor, Lubrizol's responsibility remains nevertheless full in its role of client.

A new faith, the outsourcing of activities by large groups, particularly in these sectors (chemical industry, oil and nuclear) is problematic, especially for tasks that may pose the greatest health risk for employees and employees. populations.

Outsourcing staff are very unaware of the technological risks they face during their work due to lack of training. This situation will worsen with the disappearance of CHSCTs pursuant to the 2017 Macron Orders; and the powers and means of intervention of the CSSCTs (new mandatory body in the Seveso sites), will not make up for their disappearance.

It is also the responsibility of the state that is engaged. The resources and staffing of the inspectors of classified installations for the protection of the environment (Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing) were not doubled, despite the promises made. makes them insufficient to enforce the regulations. Their mission of controlling sites at risk is not ensured effectively. The same is true for the labor inspectorate, which is responsible, inter alia, for enforcing the rules on fires, explosions and the storage of dangerous products whose numbers are rapidly melting.

While it is gradually discovered that the first ads on the quantities of products gone up in smoke have been dumped, the heads of state services and the government spend their time trying to convince of the little danger that run the residents of the factory.

Populations are expected to decide by themselves whether it is better for them to go far or to lock themselves in their place of life, thus creating a generalized feeling of anxiety all the more justified when one knows that smoke and toxic soot, given the products that burned, include carcinogenic molecules and endocrine disruptors.

On the other hand, disasters such as those in Lubrizol would require a plan for the evacuation of the most exposed populations and the protection of all other people in the contaminated areas. But nothing has been done … because nothing is planned. There is also the question of spatial planning, the establishment of homes that, over the years, has dangerously approached dangerous sites.

Beyond the consequences for the employees of Lubrizol and the subcontractors (health of the workers, technical unemployment and loss of wages), it is the whole local life which is seriously endangered by industries whose mode of management makes bring to the community responsibilities that should fall within the "polluter pays" logic; the same is true of environmental costs.

The situation in the surrounding countryside and throughout the region covered by the prevailing winds is worrying: soils that could be poisoned for about ten years, sick animals, high risks of polluted water tables, impossibility for farmers to continue their activities, organic agriculture and peasants in direct sales being directly penalized. The state did not sufficiently accompany the withdrawal of the productions, placing on the peasants themselves the responsibility of these withdrawals.

It would be wrong to believe that what happened with Lubrizol only concerns the inhabitants of Rouen and its region. Industrial risks, the dangers of the constant search for increases in financial dividends to the detriment of investment in production equipment, the safety of sites and people are everywhere where is implanted this type of industry which must be exemplary in terms of safety and impact on the environment and ecosystems.

Never again, neither here nor anywhere else! We require that :

• That the list of burned products be published in extenso, which requires the removal of manufacturing secrets;
• That the list of molecules (PCBs, dioxins, etc.) that have potentially polluted the soil is known;
• That the figures on the occupational diseases of current and former Lubrizol employees be disseminated;
• That populations be medically supported and that long-term follow-up be implemented, especially for pregnant women and children;
• That an estimate of the damage be made as quickly as possible by the State services, so that emergency aid (in the form of an advance) is allocated to all the victims;
• That the employees of Lubrizol or other companies are protected by the authorities if they wish to testify to their working conditions and security, which implies a strengthening of the law on whistleblowers;
• That Europe strengthen surveillance legislation for SEVESO sites, and that the State revert to the relaxation granted in 2018, establishing safety perimeters for real estate projects;
• That the State foresees, with the means of implementation, a plan for the evacuation of the populations living near each high-risk site, chemical or nuclear, as well as exercises in real conditions ;
• Establishment of independent health authorities and independent prosecutors ;
• The establishment of CSSCT with extended legal skills with capacity for expertise and right of alert ;
• the restoration of CHSCTs in companies and the extension of their powers ;
• Reinforcement of labor inspections and classified facilities for the protection of the environment in connection with CARSAT and DREAL.

The petitioners :

Friends of the Earth France; Henri-Pezerat association; Attac; General Confederation of Labor (CGT); Peasant confederation; Criigen (Independent Research and Information Committee on Genetic Engineering); Unitary Trade Union Federation (FSU); citizens; SOL (Agroecological and solidarity-based alternatives); Union syndicale Solidaires; Autonomous ecological zone.