French courts ordered the state on Tuesday to make up for the family of a 50-year-old man who died in 2016 after sucking toxic gases from rotten green algae piled up on the country’s western coast.
Nantes’ Court of Appeals ruled that France was responsible for the death of Jean-Rene Auffray, citing his “negligence” in enforcing environmental regulations to protect its waters and prevent toxic green algae from blooming.
For more than fifty years, a large amount of green algae has been washed every year on Brittany Beach in western France, releasing the decay of hydrogen sulfide, a toxin that can be fatal at high concentrations.
Auffray, a keen trail runner, died of sudden respiratory failure while jogging in the mouth of the algae Choke Kokek near Saint-Brieuc.
His family sued his death, but in 2022 the court dismissed the claim, ruling that there was not enough evidence to link the toxic algae to Ofrey’s death.
Tuesday’s decision turned around, with the ruling marking the first time France has taken responsibility for the health risks imposed by deadly green algae in coastal areas.
The court explained in a statement that the court “is a responsibility of negligence due to failure to implement European and national regulations designed to protect water from agricultural pollution, which is “a major reason for the spread of green algae in Brittany.”
The court held that Ofrey’s death was caused by rapid pulmonary edema – excessive fluid in the lungs – and fatal poisoning can only be caused by inhalation of hydrogen sulfide at extremely high concentrations.
“This is the first time that a French court has recognized the link between a person’s death and the state’s negligence in these green algae cases,” said Francois Lafforgue, the family’s attorney.
The family of the deceased will receive partial compensation because the court believes the state has 60% responsibility and notes that he takes personal risks by jogging in the estuary.
The state has been ordered to pay 277,343 euros ($321,750) to the jogger’s wife, 15,000 euros for each of his three children, and 9,000 euros to his brother.
According to a 2021 report by France’s top audit court, about 90% of algae blossoms in Brittany are caused by agriculture, and the use of nitrogen fertilizer has increased significantly since the 1960s.
Intensive agriculture, especially pig farms – and the resulting nitrate pollution are associated with the spread of green algae in the western Cotes-Durwu region.
LAF/EKF/SJW/PHZ
