They believe they have been contaminated without knowing it with lead, arsenic and cadmium. About twenty families in the Gard have decided to file a complaint against X with the prosecutor’s office of the Marseille health center for endangering the lives of others, unintentional injuries and water pollution.
These inhabitants living near the old mines of the town of Saint-Félix-de-Pallières (Gard) learned that they were contaminated with heavy metals. This pollution would come from the area surrounding the mine closed 45 years ago. Despite the closure of the site, the area, in particular the mining waste dyke, now covered with earth and vegetation, has remained a great place for walks and games for children. Problem, for the plaintiffs and several experts, the levels of heavy metals remained high, unduly harming the neighboring population.
Responsibilities to be determined
On February 10, the Regional Health Agency sent a letter to several residents to confirm that arsenic, lead and cadmium levels above the standard were indeed present in the blood of participants, reports Le Midi libre. . The health risk is taken seriously: 46 people must benefit from personalized medical monitoring “to verify that they do not develop renal insufficiency or neurological disorders in the future,” continues the regional daily.
The plaintiffs therefore demand justice and want to understand why nothing has been done to preserve the health of the inhabitants living near this sensitive site.
Read also: Pollution would promote obesity
Air pollution kills more than 5 million people every year
Heavy metals in “vintage” toys
