Notable case, Noyelles-Godault, Hauts-de-France (Pas-de-Calais), France
Metaleurop Nord (Noyelles-Godault)
For 109 years France's largest lead and zinc smelter. Its dust left lead and cadmium in the plough layer of fields all around, now one of Europe's main research sites on managing contaminated soils with plants.
At a glance
- Status
- Contained
- Area
- 6,000 ha on land1
- Activity
- 1894–2003
- People affected
- 55,0002
- Media
- soil, air, living organisms
- Kind of site
- smelter
- Area. Most polluted zone of about 60 km² at the end of the twentieth century; the SAFIR research network covers about 100 km² (French Wikipedia).
- People affected. Residents of the three most exposed communes.
Contaminants
Status
Contained
The smelter was demolished between 2003 and 2006 and about 50 ha were turned into a hub of recycling firms. The surrounding farm and urban soils remain contaminated: the area is too large for excavation, and non-food crops are being tested.
Story
The Noyelles-Godault works, in the northern coalfield, operated from 1894 to 2003. At closure it supplied two thirds of France's lead (150,000 tonnes) and a third of its zinc (100,000 tonnes), plus cadmium, indium and germanium. Despite improvements made from 1975, it emitted dust to the end; an estimated 45,000 tonnes of lead were deposited in the region.
Contamination is in the plough layer, where mean concentrations of cadmium, lead and zinc are 20 to 50 times the regional background. The worst-hit zone exceeds 1,000 ppm of lead or 20 ppm of cadmium. Lead and cadmium in crops exceed the limits for human consumption.
On 10 March 2003 the company went into liquidation and 830 employees lost their jobs. Since 1999, and then with ADEME-funded projects such as PHYTENER, woodland and energy crops have been tried on the fields around the former smelter to stabilise the metals and give farmers an income.
Timeline
- 1894The smelter starts up.
- 1975First measures to reduce emissions.
- 1999An experimental woodland of about 1 ha is planted 600 m from the smelter.
- 200310 March: liquidation; the works close.
- 2007Three experimental miscanthus fields are set up.
Health
In a 2002 survey 13% of the children tested had raised blood lead, 27% at Évin-Malmaison. About 55,000 people live in the three most exposed communes (French Wikipedia).
Remediation
- 2003demolition and redevelopmentDemolition of the plant (2003–2006) and conversion of about 50 ha into a recycling hub.
Plants and fungi at this site
PhytoremediationField scale, 2007–
Miscanthus × giganteus
PHYTENER project: three fields of about 1 ha each planted with miscanthus in 2007 on former farmland with different metal levels, and a fourth in 2010, 700 m from the smelter, to compare varieties and farming practices (rhizome density, fertilisation, mycorrhization). Aim: phytostabilisation combined with energy biomass production.
Outcome On the contaminated soils miscanthus accumulates Cd, Pb and Zn mainly in roots and limits their transfer to rhizomes, stems and leaves: it behaves as an excluder, suited to phytostabilisation (2023 study, read from a search extract).
- Pourrut B. et al. The PHYTENER project: development of phytostabilisation combined with energy crop production on agricultural soils highly contaminated by metals. Geophysical Research Abstracts 13, EGU2011-9395, meetingorganizer.copernicus.org, 2011
- Evaluation of Miscanthus × giganteus tolerance to trace element stress: field experiment with soils possessing gradient Cd, Pb, and Zn concentrations, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2023
PhytoremediationField scale, 1999–
Miscanthus × giganteus, Robinia pseudoacacia, Alnus glutinosa, Quercus robur, Acer pseudoplatanus, Salix alba
The PHYTENER project (ISA Lille and ten other laboratories, funded by ADEME): one hectare planted in 1999 with about 1,800 trees of five species, 600 m north of the smelter; three fields of about one hectare under miscanthus since 2007 on soils with different contamination levels, and a fourth since 2010 to test cultivars, planting density, fertilisation and mycorrhizae.
Outcome Miscanthus accumulates the metals mainly in its roots and passes little to the stems: yields rose from 3.7–10.3 t/ha of dry matter in the second year to 15.8–23.3 t/ha in the third. This is phytostabilisation with biomass production: the metals stay in the soil.
- Nsanganwimana et al., Metal accumulation and shoot yield of Miscanthus × giganteus growing in contaminated agricultural soils: insights into agronomic practices, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2015
- Pourrut et al., The PHYTENER project: development of phytostabilisation combined with energy crop production on agricultural soils highly contaminated by metals, EGU General Assembly, meetingorganizer.copernicus.org, 2011
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Agrostis capillarisCommon bentEvidence: field
- Arabidopsis halleriHaller's rockcressEvidence: field
- Cannabis sativaIndustrial hempEvidence: field
- Festuca rubraRed fescueEvidence: field
- Noccaea caerulescensAlpine pennycressEvidence: field
- Ricinus communisCastor beanEvidence: field
Fungi
- Paxillus involutusBrown roll-rimEvidence: greenhouse
- Rhizophagus irregularisEvidence: greenhouse
- Agaricus bisporusButton mushroomEvidence: laboratory
- Aspergillus nigerBlack mouldEvidence: laboratory
- Mucor circinelloidesEvidence: laboratory
- Oidiodendron maiusEvidence: laboratory
The rest are on the contaminant pages.
Nearby
Notable case, Vlaanderen (Limburg), Belgium
Lommel-Maatheide and the Campine (zinc smelters)
183 km
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Lekkerkerk
202 km
- Mixed waste
Trial, England, United Kingdom
Woburn Experimental Farm, sludge-treated plots
306 km
Phytoremediation
Notable case, England (Northamptonshire), United Kingdom
Corby (steelworks reclamation)
344 km
Sources
- Metaleurop Nord, Wikipedia (fr), 2026
- The PHYTENER project (EGU General Assembly abstract), Pourrut et al., Groupe ISA Lille / ADEME, 2011
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.