Six beaches in Brittany were closed this summer due to dangerous seaweed, which environmentalists claim is linked to nitrates in fertilisers and waste from pig, poultry and dairy farming entering the ocean. Pockets of toxic gas, which are potentially fatal to humans, become trapped under the crust of the algae once it begins to decompose. Brittany is the centre of France’s industrial farming sector, producing less than 5% of the country’s eggs, meat and milk. In July, the family of a man who died in seaweed sludge in 2016 sued the state and local authorities.
Six beaches in Brittany were closed this summer due to dangerous seaweed, which environmentalists claim is linked to nitrates in fertilisers and waste from pig, poultry and dairy farming entering the ocean. Pockets of toxic gas, which are potentially fatal to humans, become trapped under the crust of the algae once it begins to decompose. Brittany is the centre of France’s industrial farming sector, producing 50% of the country’s eggs, meat and milk. In July, the family of a man who died in seaweed sludge in 2016 sued the state and local authorities.