The Ivry-Paris XIII incinerator, known to be the largest incinerator in Europe, is doing poorly. A recent study unveiled on Monday February 7 indeed reports “exceptionally high” dioxin levels, among the highest on the continent, around the site. The mayor of Ivry-sur-Seine calls for the holding of an extraordinary union council.
According to a study carried out by the ToxicoWatch foundation and revealed by Le Monde, this incinerator – which treats waste from a large part of the Parisian districts as well as from 14 municipalities located south of the capital – displays “exceptionally high” dioxin levels. , with samples ranging from 1.2 pg/g to 4.90 pg/g. That is levels four times higher than the official results communicated by Suez. The group, which operates the incinerator, indeed speaks of results of between 0.3 and 1.2 pg/g.
By way of comparison, these levels of dioxins taken around the Ile-de-France incinerator would be “two to four times higher than those measured around Belgian or Spanish incinerators” according to the toxicologist and director of ToxicoWatch, Abel Arkenbout, interviewed by Le World. However, dioxins are particularly persistent organic pollutants in the environment.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), they are indeed “very toxic” and can “cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with the hormonal system and cause cancer” . Listed on the black list of chemical compounds of most concern, they are classified as carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Towards the holding of an extraordinary union council
“The dioxin pollution rates, as presented in the newspaper Le Monde, are particularly alarming”, immediately reacted Philippe Bouyssou, the mayor (PCF) of Ivry-sur-Seine, who notes that these measures, if they are verified, “would be far superior to the environmental and health standards in force, as well as to the measures carried out by the operator of the plant and the State services”. The elected communist therefore calls for “a reading on the merits of these data […] by the health authorities, and this, “as soon as possible”.
Press release – Dioxin levels around
the Ivry-Paris XIII incinerator: Philippe
Bouyssou requests the organization of a
Syctom Extraordinary Union Council. pic.twitter.com/QM3PTgYsTC
— City of Ivry (@mairieivry) February 7, 2022
In a press release issued on Monday, February 7, the latter therefore requested the presidency of Syctom so that an “extraordinary union council be organized as soon as possible”. “This meeting should allow all elected officials to act on the operational measures that would be to be taken”, he said, adding that he would be “particularly attentive to the conclusions of this exchange, and would take note of transparency throughout this process”.
Built in 1969 then modernized in 1995 and 2005, the incineration center in Ivry/Paris XIII receives household waste from 14 municipalities in the territory of the metropolitan household waste agency. According to Syctom, the flue gas treatment carried out at the center in Ivry/Paris XIII nevertheless guarantees “emissions much lower than the European regulations in force”, knowing that “atmospheric emissions are continuously monitored by the operator thanks to analyzers placed in the fireplace”.