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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/24/chemical-valley-inspired-lawyer-sue-industry-france-helene-duguy>
"The factories were just part of the landscape for Hélène Duguy growing up in
the heart of an area known as France’s “Chemical Valley”.
“Those factories are visible from my mother’s apartment,” says Duguy, 34, whose
mother still lives in St-Genis-Laval, south of Lyon.
Until recently, her mother did not accept that there might be any danger
associated with living in close proximity to chemical factories. “She just
trusted the municipalities to do their job,” Duguy says. “I think it remained
something quite remote for her – she understood there was a problem, but Pfas
is invisible, so it’s very hard to understand the reality of it and what it
could mean for you.”
It was only after a warning was issued about the safety of homegrown food and
locally produced eggs that the scale of the contamination became more tangible.
“She’s now even considering selling her flat,” Duguy says. “I was with her last
weekend and I told her that for me, the contamination she is exposed to
continuously is extremely worrying […] Here I feel very close to people who I
was raised with, so this makes the issue very relatable, very tangible, and
also it makes the fight more concrete.”
Today, as an ambitious young lawyer, Duguy is part of a team taking the
companies running the factories to court."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
