The workers in yellow vests and their machines have deserted the allotment gardens of the Virtues, in Aubervilliers. “When they discovered these pieces of fiber cement sheet metal, they suspended the work,” says Viviane, tenant of a plot, pointing to a piece of corrugated roofing laid in the grass.
For the past week, six workers from the construction company Pian have been busy moving the tools and huts of the 17 vegetable gardens affected by the project to build an Olympic training pool instead of the Fort d’ Aubervilliers.
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Alerted by the two associations that operate the site, a labor inspector went to the site on April 19 and immediately announced the temporary stoppage of the site.
“Asbestos is everywhere in this garden,” explains Mario, tenant of a vegetable garden. Our cabins are made of recycled materials, many roofs are fiber cement. Widely used for several decades before being banned in 1997, this material can be very toxic. It must be treated by specialized companies.
Grand Paris Aménagement commissioned a company to establish a diagnosis
However, according to several gardeners present on site, the Pian company would have “handled hazardous waste without protection”. And even “threw several pieces of fiber cement, potentially dangerous, in the all-comers dumpster”.
A version formally denied by Grand Paris Aménagement, which ensures that the “sheets concerned” were handled “with the appropriate protections” then “stored under tarpaulin” in the parking lot of the Fort, pending the passage of a specialist.
“We must already ensure the presence of asbestos. If this is proven, the waste will be evacuated according to the law in force”, tempers Grand Paris Aménagement, which explains having “mandated the company Ex’im” to carry out the diagnosis.
After this phase, the labor inspector will then have a period of one month to decide whether or not to resume work. “For the moment, it does not delay the construction of the swimming pool which has not yet started”, assures the operator.
On their Facebook page “Save the gardens of Aubervilliers”, several gardeners wonder: “Did Grand Paris Aménagement voluntarily seek to circumvent the evacuation procedure? In addition, pieces of asbestos were scattered in the aisles. Has the health of gardeners and gardeners been endangered? »
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