Will the inhabitants of Hauts-de-France be able to continue to drink tap water? On September 15, 2022, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) announced that it was being placed “under enhanced surveillance” in around a hundred municipalities. In question, an abnormally high concentration of chloridazone desphenyl, a pesticide metabolite (a molecule produced by its degradation in the environment). Until then, due to the lack of strict application of the precautionary principle, a large part of the population may have been exposed to these residues of a herbicide used in beet cultivation (it was banned in 2020), whose Potential health effects are poorly understood.
In a document to be seen on September 22, 2022, “Complementary investigation” reveals widespread pollution… and health authorities overwhelmed by the situation. The journalists have compiled their own database from the water health checks carried out in 2021. They have compiled the results of these checks, which are published by the municipalities. They then classified them by department, by molecule, and by exceeding the so-called “quality” limit (set at 0.1 micrograms per liter).
Pollution affecting half of the region’s water distribution networks
They found that the five departments of Hauts-de-France were impacted. According to their calculations, in 2021, desphenyl chloridazone was found at least once above the quality limit in 133 drinking water supply networks in the Oise… and in 160 networks in the ‘Aisne. At least 49% of the networks in the region have been affected. Why was the consumption of tap water not banned?
“A restriction of water would put many sectors of the region in a bind in the short to medium term, because no curative solution is immediately available.”
Extract from an ARS documentthat “Further Investigation” has obtained
In this ARS document which shows a body concerned about the consequences and costs of a possible water restriction, we learn that as of December 31, 2021, nearly 4 million inhabitants were concerned. That is 66% of the region’s population.
Excerpt from “Is tap water (really) drinkable?”, a document to see in “Complément d’Enquête” on 22 september 2022.
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