Sanofi has ceased production at a plant in the French Pyrenees after France Nature Environnement, a federation representing about 3,500 local associations, filed a complaint that the polluting agent emissions at Sanofi’s Mourenx plant had been 7,000 times above the limit allowed by French law.
Sanofi said that a collecting unit had been set up to treat emissions and reduce them. The company has asked an independent organization to assess possible effects on local populations. According to Sanofi, the study found that it had not been put at increased risk, though the spokesman declined to provide access to the study.
According to France Nature Environnement, bromopropane, a widely used solvent found at the plant, can cause respiratory and skin infections and cancer.
Read the Reuters report