Monday evening, November 25, in Saint-Pazanne, in Loire-Atlantique, the health authorities presented the conclusions of the investigation by Public Health France on pediatric cancers in the sector. The parents are revolted by the cessation of the investigations.
Anger grows. Monday evening, November 25, in Saint-Pazanne, in Loire-Atlantique, several hundred people went to listen to the health authorities present the research findings initiated at the beginning of the year on pediatric cancers in this sector. Most of them were not at all pleased that the authorities decided to stop their investigations without even having understood “why” so many children had fallen ill in the surrounding area between 2015 and 2019.
“Where is the support of the government today in prevention Sir? Where is he? We are killing our children!”, a man was carried away, quoted by AFP. “There is a cause somewhere, but here I have the impression that we are told ‘we haven’t found anything, we stop and we go’. Basically, keep dying…. Thank you very much, but it’s not enough”, commented a parent while others asked the authorities if they would be ready to live in Saint-Pazanne with their children.
In view of the data, “there is no danger”, repeated the latter for three hours. “We did what we could,” explains Nicolas Durand, deputy director general of the Regional Health Agency (ARS) Pays-de-la-Loire. “We have put considerable resources into these investigations, whether it is the epidemiological investigation by Public Health France or the environmental investigations”, he insists, admitting however: “We recognize that we have not answered the question main, which is: why?”.
No “common cause identified”
Tuesday, November 19, after several months of investigation, the ARS announced that it had found no “common cause” for the cases of pediatric cancers that occurred in Saint-Pazanne and in six surrounding villages over the period 2015-2019. In view of the results of the researchers’ investigations, the health agency recommended “not to continue epidemiological investigations locally” and “not to initiate additional environmental investigations and samples.”
However, the study validated “the fact that the number of pediatric cancers in the sector of the seven municipalities (studied) over the period 2015-2019 is higher than what is observed on average in France”. This work leads Public Health France to conclude that there is a spatio-temporal grouping without an identified common cause,” the report concluded.
Thus, additional analyzes will take place and environmental measures are scheduled in 17 homes for children with cancer by the end of January 2020, as well as a second campaign to “remove doubt” in the Notre-Dame de Lourdes school. , in Sainte-Pazanne.
Next committee meeting scheduled for March
Finally, in its report, Public Health France recognized that scientific knowledge “on the causes of childhood cancers and the potential role of environmental exposure in this process remains fragmented”. In conclusion, the ARS proposed to “set up active surveillance to identify any new case of cancer in the sector”.
This impasse therefore revolted many parents present at Monday’s public meeting. “It only consists of looking at whether there is an immediate mortal danger for our children at home or at school, these are not real environmental studies”, reacts Marie Thibaud, member of the collective. Stop the cancers of our children with the AFP. According to the association, between 2015 and 2019, the Sainte-Pazanne sector had 20 cases of cancer, figures higher than those retained by the ARS (17). A next meeting of the monitoring committee should take place in March 2020.
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