The public prosecutor’s office of Digne-les-bains requested an investigation following the accidental discharge of mercury (Hg) from a chlorine production site. Over a 14-day period, almost 9 kg of Hg were thereby discharged into the River DURANCE with daily levels reaching 1,787 g for a discharge standard of 50 g/d. According to the operator, these accidental discharges could take the plant’s average annual discharge value up to 65 g/d for 2004. Specialist services stated that the contamination of fish downstream of the plant rose from 1,541 micrograms/kg of fish in 1999 to 5,000 in 2003. These values were greater than the fish marketing standards that are between 500 and 1,000 micrograms/kg of fresh weight depending on the species. In March 2012, the operator was fined €30,000 for polluting the River Durance, €15,000 for damages to 3 civilian parties and €10,000 for non-material damages to 2 other civilian parties.