The incineration plant is suspected of increasing the frequency of cancers. Pressed by health professionals, the authorities opened this case.
Are the inhabitants of Lunel-Viel, a small town in the Hérault, slowly intoxicating on contact with the household waste incinerator which spits its smoke loaded with dioxins, furans, hydrocarbons and heavy metals into the air? Some fear it. Indeed, since the installation of the plant in 1999, the impact of the incinerator on the health of the local population has alarmed the inhabitants of the region, who have contacted the health authorities.
The matter is serious. The Hérault tumor and cancer registry issued its last conclusions in October 2016. Its results are not reassuring, or not entirely. The Register shows an overindicence of cancers in the zones exposed to the rejections of the factory, in particular in the communes located on the “rose of the winds” – Lansargues, Candillargues, Saint-Just, Lunel-Viel, Saint-Nazaire-de-Pézan , Mauguio, Mudaison and La Grande-Motte, where pollutants are carried by the wind.
No link
But as always, the causal link has not been demonstrated – any more than it is between pesticides and cancer in the Bordeaux region, or even mining waste and pathologies observed in certain municipalities in the Cévennes. “If we can deplore the generalized progression of certain cancers, it is happy for the residents of Lunelville to see that this study does not attribute them to the presence of the incinerator”, writes the City on its site.
The argument is convincing by the inhabitants, and in particular the health professionals of the region. “We find an over-incidence of non-Hodgkin’s malignant lymphomas, soft tissue sarcomas, multiple myelomas … These are all cancers linked to dioxins”, insists Francis Glémet, spokesperson for Amies (Association of independent physicians for the environment and public health), which carries the fight.
ARS promises to investigate
The inhabitants therefore claim the light on these elements. By dint of pugnacity, they won their case: the Regional Health Agency (ARS) promised them to open the case and to look more seriously at the issue. Representatives of the association thus met members of the health administration this week. “They acted on the principle that it was necessary to discuss with elected officials in order to reduce the amount of garbage incinerated in order to find alternative methods”, continues Francis Glémet.
But above all, the ARS has promised to launch a descriptive study by involving residents with a questionnaire system. The objective is to assess the level of exposure of residents, their lifestyle which could influence their risk of cancer. Finally, a meta-analysis will be carried out over six months in order to gather knowledge on the toxicity of dioxins which, in addition to their carcinogenic effect, are known to disrupt the endocrine system.
“The problem is the standards”
“I will keep an eye on the grain,” says Francis Glémet. Already, the man has been able to observe the “arm wrestling with statisticians and epidemiologists” of Public Health France, the French health agency, which demands quantified data before considering concrete actions to protect populations.
“The problem is the standards,” sighs this retired pharmacist again. The factory respects them, no problem; the trouble is that they have not changed since 1983 and were built when knowledge about the health impact was very lacking ”.
In the meantime, the Association is trying to act, with its means. By accelerating the rate of emission of the particles produced by the products incinerated at the level of the chimney, the fallout would be lower, explains Francis Glémet, who is not, however, deluding himself: “To modify the standards, assess the real impact , take precautionary measures, it will take time and a lot of money ”. And without doubt, a good dose of political courage.
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