An unpublished report, to which **France 3 Alpes** had access, reveals that the emissions of PFAS — a group of chemicals known for their persistence in the environment — from the Tefal plant in Rumilly are "generalized" and very high. Local residents and citizen associations have been calling on the courts to ban these discharges and demand new health studies to assess the impact of the pollution. For nearly four years, these groups have sought answers about the extent of PFAS emissions, how these molecules spread through the air, how far they are inhaled, and whether the health of the local population is affected. "But all our requests have remained unanswered, all our concerns have remained without response," says Virgile Benoît, co-president of Agir Ensemble pour Rumilly et l'Albanais (AERA), one of the associations involved. To obtain answers and compel the industrialist to stop these emissions, the group has recently filed a lawsuit with the administrative court of Grenoble. The lawsuit highlights that the atmospheric emissions of PFAS are "current, considerable, and uncontrolled," according to the document, which **France 3 Alpes** was able to review. It states that the population remains exposed without protective measures for many months. The request is supported by two other environmental organizations, Cyclamen and France Nature Environnement 74, and is directed at the prefect of Haute-Savoie. "What the associations want is a more firm action from the administration. It must increase the pressure level towards Tefal so that things go faster," explains Me Sébastien Bécue, the lawyer of the claimants. In 2022, residents discovered that their drinking water was polluted with PFOA, a type of PFAS molecule that is extremely persistent in the environment, toxic, and carcinogenic to humans. Later tests showed that groundwater, lakes, and rivers in the area were also contaminated with the same substance. In January 2025, the magazine **Complément d'enquête** revealed on **France 2** how the burial of PFAS-contaminated waste by Tefal could have partially contributed to the large-scale pollution in Rumilly. The company, which used PFOA in its non-stick coatings until 2012, has always maintained that the factory is not solely responsible for the historical pollution in the region. In November 2025, air analyses requested by state services found PFAS in the emissions from the Tefal plant. In April 2026, the prefecture of Haute-Savoie issued a decree requiring the company to reduce and monitor its emissions more closely. An inspection report from March 2026, which was previously unpublished but accessible to **France 3 Alpes**, noted that PFAS emissions are "generalized" and found in nearly all controlled emission points at the plant. The report also revealed that banned substances like PFOA and Gen-X, a substitute for PFOA, were detected in the emissions, contradicting previous claims by the company that these chemicals were not being released. One of the ovens at the plant had PFAS concentrations eight times higher than the highest recorded levels in the region. This has led the associations to push for new environmental and health studies, including a blood sampling campaign for the local population.