News from Versainville. 29/11/2008.

Industrial waste at Versainville, Normandy: Charge against person(s) unknown

After the discovery of buried car shredding residues near Falaise, legal action is being taken for endangering the lives and heath of the population.

Mr Brahim Boufrou presenting the fine black powders collected in the gardens of neighbours of Guy Dauphin Environment (GDE)

“We are going to bring a civil case in the affair of the car shredding waste found buried under the parking lot of a Brocante at Versainville.” said Mr. Rene Maffei, yesterday, President of Grape (Group of 67 associations for the protection of the environment). Last week after a check by 2 agents of the DRIRE (Direction régionale de l’Industrie et de la Recherche), the presence of several thousand items of recycled vehicles was confirmed. They should have been stocked in a class 2 waste dump.

According to the ex owner of the Brocante, the waste was deposited by GDE of Rocquancourt between 2002 and 2003. The neighbours of this dump are convinced that a large quantity of fine dust and powders, the result of car shredding, was added to the waste, explained Mr Brahim Boufou, president of the Association of environment and urbanism of Rocquancourt (AREU).

In 2002 we caught the enterprise in the act of burying such fine dust inside their site at Rocquancourt. After our protestations the DRIRE stepped in and ordered that they be removed.

The dates coincide with the beginning of the illegal dumping at Versainville, the ex-owner of the brocante remembers that several trailers completely full of black mud were tipped over the crushed waste.

The heavy silence of the elected representatives.

“Since 2003 we have tried to establish a dialogue with GDE, in vain, said Mr Brahim Boufrou. We are not against this enterprise; we simply request that they respect the law. As this company grows so do the nuisances”.

“Today, many of us are worried about our health” says the president of AREU. In front of him, a jar containing fine waste, collected in the gardens of Rocquancourt. With the neighbours he noted all the incidents. “In 67 months, we have registered 46 incidents many of which were fires with enormous amounts of black smoke and several explosions”.

During this same period, the inhabitants attempted to mobilise the politicians. At Rocquancourt, to mention GDE was taboo, says Brahim Boufrou. Since the last municipal elections, things have evolved. The municipal council has come out against GDE’s plan to expand its site.  On the other hand, neither the Region nor the Department nor the president of Greater Caen have deigned answer. They have not made any declarations either about the discovery of this dumping site. As for the Greens, they are inexistent.