Thousands protest over deadly algae

SEVERAL thousand protestors gathered on the beach at Hillion in Brittany to demand action over the noxious green algae that has piled up along the Côtes-d’Armor.

Their call came as prosecutors said they had received around 300 complaints about the algae after the death of a thoroughbred horse and the possible linked death of a beach worker.

The protestors – gendarmes said there were at least 2,500 – joined the demonstration at Hillion calling for an end to the stench each summer.

Tonnes of decaying algae produce deadly hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and residents have been forced to keep their windows closed to avoid it.

Ecologists say the increase in algae is due to over-fertilisation of fields in the surrounding area – the excess nitrate is washed down to the beaches and causes the rise in algae. Farmers have hit back saying the cause is excess phosphate from sewage treatment works.

Yesterday’s protest comes after more than a decade of allegations of illnesses, comas and deaths from the noxious algae.

On July 28 a horse died and its rider, who was walking the horse, was overcome by fumes and passed out on the beach at Saint-Michel-en-Grève. A worker also died on a beach as he was transporting algae.

Environmental researchers from Ineris found concentrations of hydrogen sulphide at Saint-Michel-en-Grève ranged up to 1,000 parts per million - an amount that "can be fatal in several minutes."

Prosecutors are now ordering scientific, technical and judicial studies on the 300 complaints which will allow a decision on whether they should go to court. The public prosecutor’s office in Paris has gathered all the complaints together to be treated as one case nationally against local authorities for allowing a danger to life.

Councils are accused of allowing increased pig production in Brittany without considering the effects on the production of algae.

Photo:innacoz