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Video length: 2 min
Consumption: contaminated wells, Perrier suspends part of its production
An investigation reveals the closure of two water wells at the Perrier production site, in Gard. Already in April, the authorities had ordered the destruction of nearly three million bottles.
(France 2)
An investigation reveals the closure of two water wells at the Perrier production site, in Gard. Already in April, the authorities had ordered the destruction of nearly three million bottles.
It’s the summer ritual of two retirees: a glass of Perrier. According to a survey Radio France And The world, no more one-liter bottles of Perrier are produced due to a disinfection procedure on wells. The brand’s parent company, Nestlé Waters, wants to be reassuring and has denied any production stoppage, indicating that it is carrying out a “regular maintenance operation”. The case arises after the fecal contamination of a well two months ago. The state ordered its suspension, and nearly three million bottles were destroyed as a precaution.
Among the possible explanations, the recent violent rains would have drained animal or human waste, then converged towards the water tables, with a risk that such a situation would recur. The phenomena should moreover “intensify in the years to come, linked to climatic upheavals”, explains Émilie Lance, ecotoxicologist and lecturer at the University of Reims (Marne). In a supermarket, some consumers have made the radical choice to no longer buy Perrier. Nestlé assures that it does not foresee any social impact. 1,000 people work in the Gard factory.
