the company Altéo indicted for the discharge of red mud into the Mediterranean

The company is accused of having dumped red mud for several years, solid residue from the refining of bauxite from which alumina is extracted, into the Calanques national park.

The Altéo company was indicted in October 2023 for the discharge of red sludge into the Mediterranean Sea from its Gardanne factory, in Bouches-du-Rhône, franceinfo learned on Friday January 19 from the Marseille prosecutor’s office and the company, confirming information from Le Monde. Altéo announces “take note” of the decision and ensures “no more bauxite refining for a year”.

Altéo is the world leader in the production of aluminas, used for example for the touch screens of smartphones or the batteries of electric cars. The company is accused of having dumped red mud for several years, solid residue from the refining of bauxite from which alumina is extracted, into the Calanques national park.

Towards an emblematic trial, hope environmental defenders

“This is an encouraging step” Who “can allow tomorrow a major emblematic trial, because it is a major case emblematic of the cynicism of industrialists who consider that nature is an adjustment variable when it comes to making profits“, estimates, on franceinfo Friday, Maître William Bourdon, lawyer for a fishermen’s association of La Ciotat. “This case shows that we have to hold on, that’s what we did with the civil parties”he continues.

“It shows that we cannot do anything and think of escaping justice”, also reacted on Friday on France Inter, Marine Calmet, president of the NGO Wild Legal. The natural law lawyer welcomes “a very good signal for environmental justice in France”. For her, “it is important” for the trial to take place “because this massive pollution is really what best represents ecocide in France”. The NGO claims to have consulted several files and noted dozens of exceedances of the chemical emission limit.

Residents had filed a complaint

The health center of the Marseille high court opened a judicial investigation in March 2019 into the discharges from the Alteo alumina plant in Gardanne for “infringement of the legislation on classified installations”. Eight plaintiffs had filed a complaint against X for endangering the lives of others.

Since the end of 2015, Alteo has stopped its discharges into the sea “red mud” solids, discharging only a liquid effluent. Solid waste is now stored on land at the Mange Garri site in Bouc-Bel-Air, near Gardanne. The complainants, including residents of the storage area, a fisherman from La Ciotat, as well as the environmental NGO ZEA, believe that liquid discharges remain dangerous for the marine environment, as does the sludge stored near the plant.