La pollution industrielle de la Moselle française : naissance, développement et gestion d’un problème environnemental, 1850-2000
Le bassin-versant de la Moselle française a été confronté à partir des années 185 à des problèmes graves de pollution des eaux par l’industrie. Le développement de l’industrie lourde (charbonnages et carbochimie, mines de fer, sidérurgie, chimie du sel) a également entraîné une augmentation de la population qui a considérablement pesé sur la qualité des eaux de surface. L’étude de l’évolution des modalités de gestion de ce problème réalisée à partir de sources d’archives permet d’expliquer l’inefficacité des politiques menées jusqu’aux années 196. Le consensus industrialiste qui animait une Lorraine traumatisée par l’annexion d’une partie de son territoire accordait aux industriels une certaine immunité, qui profitait aussi de la relative indétermination du statut juridique de la pollution. A partir des années 195 et face au problème de la pénurie d’eau qui se profilait en Lorraine, des politiques plus vigoureuses furent menées, avec des résultats mitigés. La planification hydrologique menée dans le bassin-versant se fondait sur une fonctionnalisation de la ressource qui permettait de préserver les intérêts des industriels. Dans les années 197 et surtout 198, la montée en puissance de la coopération internationale sur les questions environnementales et l’accident Sandoz sur le Rhin (novembre 1986) ont remis en cause le consensus industrialiste et permis une meilleure prise en compte de l’environnement. Le travail développe les concepts de « système régional » et de « mode de construction » d’un problème environnemental, contributions nécessaires pour fonder théoriquement une géographie de l’environnement.
In the 185s, the water quality of surface waters in the Moselle river drainage basin began to suffer from the development of heavy industrial activities (coal and iron ore mining, steel and soda making). Industrial development also fuelled a demographic impetus that proved detrimental to the quality of surface waters. This study uses archival sources to analyse the ineffectiveness of the policies that were launched to regulate pollution. In a region traumatised by the Prussian annexation of a quarter of its surface (187), industrial production enjoyed a symbolic protection that allowed water pollution to go unabated. The fuzzy status of pollution in law contributed to the immunity of industrialists. From the 195s on, fear that the region might experience severe water shortages due to the growth of water consumption by industries and cities alike enabled more stringent policies to be devised. They still had to take into account the interests of the heavy industry and their effectiveness is questionable. Hydrological planning was based upon a functionalist vision of water resources that did not take environmental issues into account. The situation changed in the 197s and 198s, when European integration and the Sandoz catastrophe in the Rhine (November 1986) tipped the scale in favour of more vigorous environmental policies. This study develops the concepts of a “regional system” and of the “mode of construction” of an environmental problem. These prove to be valuable theoretical elements to ground environmental geography studies.
In the 185s, the water quality of surface waters in the Moselle river drainage basin began to suffer from the development of heavy industrial activities (coal and iron ore mining, steel and soda making). Industrial development also fuelled a demographic impetus that proved detrimental to the quality of surface waters. This study uses archival sources to analyse the ineffectiveness of the policies that were launched to regulate pollution. In a region traumatised by the Prussian annexation of a quarter of its surface (187), industrial production enjoyed a symbolic protection that allowed water pollution to go unabated. The fuzzy status of pollution in law contributed to the immunity of industrialists. From the 195s on, fear that the region might experience severe water shortages due to the growth of water consumption by industries and cities alike enabled more stringent policies to be devised. They still had to take into account the interests of the heavy industry and their effectiveness is questionable. Hydrological planning was based upon a functionalist vision of water resources that did not take environmental issues into account. The situation changed in the 197s and 198s, when European integration and the Sandoz catastrophe in the Rhine (November 1986) tipped the scale in favour of more vigorous environmental policies. This study develops the concepts of a “regional system” and of the “mode of construction” of an environmental problem. These prove to be valuable theoretical elements to ground environmental geography studies.