A former ammunition storage site used during the Second World War will be decontaminated this Thursday, February 24, in the town of Fauga in Haute-Garonne.

The Haute-Garonne prefecture announced on February 22, 2022 that a depollution operation at a former military site was entering a new phase in Fauga, a village about thirty kilometers from Toulouse.

This 50-hectare site was used as an ammunition storage site by the National Company of Hens and Explosives (SNPE) during the Second World War for the French army, then for the German army. Bought by the Eiffage group in 2001 for a subdivision project, it was in March 2005 that several shells were discovered during work.

Who is responsible for cleaning up the site? Fifteen years of legal battle later, the State was forced to take charge of this operation at its own expense. From now on, the land – classified in 2017 as a natural area – belongs to the company Solveo Energie.

The first phase of the depollution site started in June 2021 with the clearing of the site, as well as the marking and securing of access to the site. Discovered small-calibre ammunition will be destroyed on Thursday afternoons from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in a destruction zone set up on the site.

No need to evacuate the populations, except perhaps in the event of discoveries of high capacity munitions. “They should not be occupied on one place but reduced on a specialized site” explains the prefecture. But when a move cannot be envisaged, “An evacuation of the population may be necessary”.

It is a large-scale project that begins this week, and the inhabitants of Fauga risk hearing explosions every Thursday for more than a year. “The foreseeable duration of the depollution work is visible at a minimum of 30 months”specifies the prefecture.