ASBESTOS VALLEY

In the confines of Calvados and Orne, the Vere valley, also known as the «valley of death», is emblematic of the devastation caused by asbestos. From Conde-sur-Noireau to Flers, the 2700 workers for the automotive parts maker Ferodo-Valeo as well as the inhabitants of the surrounding towns were exposed to the fatal dust from 1927 to 1996. This occurred despite the link between the exposure to the mineral and respiratory illnesses being first indicated by a work safety inspector in 1906. Unfortunately his report became a dead letter. Asbestos, today has put an entire population in jeopardy, suffocating on the reality of the disease and the difficulty of responding to it. The older members of the communities remember a valley completely covered in the white asbestos dust. The women and children came into contact with the asbestos when the men came back from the factory. Today it is rare to find a family who doesn’t have at least one victim of asbestos among their mothers, fathers, uncles etc. In 1996, France ended the use of asbestos, but around the valley of the Vere, there isn’t a week goes by without two or three people being buried. On the scale of a war, the health catastrophe of asbestos causes the death of 3000 people each year in France, and is predicted to kill up to 100000 between now and 2030 according to the most pessimistic estimates.