10/14/2005
Press release
On October 14, 2005, COGEMA was acquitted by the Criminal Court of Limoges, which dismissed all the accusations made against it*.
The Court ruled as groundless the complaint lodged by the association Sources et Rivières du Limousin and the national federation France Nature Environnement, which accused COGEMA of abandoning waste and causing harm to water fauna. The Court had previously thrown out the accusation regarding endangering the life of others.
This decision confirms COGEMA's full compliance with regulations in force to protect the health of local populations and the environment.
COGEMA currently employs over 100 people in the Limousin region dedicated to the long-term monitoring of rehabilitated mining sites and to maintaining them under the best environmental conditions**.
*The stages in the legal process:
The association "Sources et Rivières du Limousin" and the national federation "France Nature visu_cogema_envi_Niger_full.jpg" lodged a complaint against COGEMA in 1999, accusing it of polluting various lakes and waterways in the Haute Vienne department and for endangering the life of others.
Following the initiation of proceedings and investigation of COGEMA in August 2002, the Public Prosecutor of Limoges requested the case be dismissed, appealing against the magistrate’s application for a transfer of proceedings.
On March 25, 2004, the Investigation Division of the Court of Appeal in Limoges ruled in favor of the magistrate but threw out the charge of endangering the life of others.
The appeal lodged by COGEMA on March 29 was rejected on November 3, 2004; the Criminal Court of Limoges then met on June 24, 2005.
**Facts on the rehabilitation: 10 years of work, 200 sample points in the environment and food chain, 800 analyses per month.
Press Office
Charles Hufnagel
Patrick Germain
T: +33 1 44 83 71 17
Fax: +33 1 44 83 25 52
press@areva.com
The Court ruled as groundless the complaint lodged by the association Sources et Rivières du Limousin and the national federation France Nature Environnement, which accused COGEMA of abandoning waste and causing harm to water fauna. The Court had previously thrown out the accusation regarding endangering the life of others.
This decision confirms COGEMA's full compliance with regulations in force to protect the health of local populations and the environment.
COGEMA currently employs over 100 people in the Limousin region dedicated to the long-term monitoring of rehabilitated mining sites and to maintaining them under the best environmental conditions**.
*The stages in the legal process:
The association "Sources et Rivières du Limousin" and the national federation "France Nature visu_cogema_envi_Niger_full.jpg" lodged a complaint against COGEMA in 1999, accusing it of polluting various lakes and waterways in the Haute Vienne department and for endangering the life of others.
Following the initiation of proceedings and investigation of COGEMA in August 2002, the Public Prosecutor of Limoges requested the case be dismissed, appealing against the magistrate’s application for a transfer of proceedings.
On March 25, 2004, the Investigation Division of the Court of Appeal in Limoges ruled in favor of the magistrate but threw out the charge of endangering the life of others.
The appeal lodged by COGEMA on March 29 was rejected on November 3, 2004; the Criminal Court of Limoges then met on June 24, 2005.
**Facts on the rehabilitation: 10 years of work, 200 sample points in the environment and food chain, 800 analyses per month.
Press Office
Charles Hufnagel
Patrick Germain
T: +33 1 44 83 71 17
Fax: +33 1 44 83 25 52
press@areva.com