Successful remediation and sustainable redevelopment of the Metaleurop site

The closure of the Metaleurop Nord plant in France's Pas-de-Calais left behind one of the most heavily-polluted sites in Europe. Through SUEZ know-how in decontamination and waste management, the project moved to another level with the installation of environmental activities on the redeveloped site.

The mission

Decontamination and redevelopment of a severely polluted industrial site

The Metaleurop Nord foundry in Noyelles-Godault (62) was closed in 2003. The closure had serious economic, social and environmental consequences, with a whole region being affected.

The site was one of the most heavily polluted in France, with tonnes of lead, zinc and hydrocarbons polluting the soil. In total, 50 hectares of Seveso 2 class land was contaminated, with serious health risks.

At the request of public and local authorities, SUEZ undertook to ensure the sustainable redevelopment of this land through a totally original project: the site would be dismantled and fully decontaminated, before being redeveloped for use by environmental businesses.

Our solutions

A sustainable redevelopment, environmentally sound and respecting the population

Soil remediation is an area of expertise at SUEZ. But not the only one. To take the project further, the AGORA rehabilitation project required a bigger-picture view to ensure the sustainable redevelopment of the industrial site. To achieve this, SUEZ opted to work in three different phases:

Safety work and preparation started in early 2004, with a detailed risk analysis and the creation of a project team
Between 2004 and 2006, the site was cleaned up, involving major work in dismantling buildings and decontaminating the soil. 190,000 tonnes of waste were removed from the site
The zone underwent economic redevelopment between 2006 and 2009, with the creation of two business parks devoted to tertiary and industrial activities, all environmentally-oriented

Eco-cluster, a benchmark for decontamination and waste management of all varieties

Many leading-edge services are proposed by highly-trained teams, including an industrial waste collection and sorting centre, a multi-modal platform for polluted soil management, a medical waste transfer station and a physical-chemical processing centre for industrial effluents.

AGORA, to promote cultural and environmental values

Cultural organisations and social economy proponents work alongside a resource and training centre focusing on sustainable development occupations.

The results

An original redevelopment that preserves the environment and the region's economic fabric

The Eco-cluster and Agora form a bond that is unique in France in terms of its size and the array of environmental skills proposed. The redevelopment of the site overseen by SUEZ generated a social and economic dynamic that greatly benefited the mining region.

Former Metaleurop employees were re-employed on each phase of the project. More widely, the tertiary and industrial parks have enabled the creation of almost 400 jobs.