Kemira Oyj, Press Release, June 18, 2025
As summer season approaches and the city of Paris is preparing to open public swimming sites along the river La Seine, the Greater Paris Sanitation Authority has once again trusted Kemira with its performic acid based solution, KemConnect® DEX, to disinfect treated wastewater before discharging.
Last year, ahead of the preparations for the Summer Olympics, Kemira’s KemConnect DEX was the champion working to ensure the wastewater met regulatory requirements and was effectively disinfected before discharge into the Seine. A historical landmark was achieved, as during the Paris Olympics athletes were able to compete in the events in the river Seine for the first time since the year 1900.
This summer, the city of Paris is fulfilling the promise it made after the Olympics, and making sure that the public swimming sites along the river Seine are safe and swimmable for the public. To make this possible, Europe’s second largest wastewater treatment plant, Seine Amont, in Valenton, must take additional steps to ensure the effluent from the plant is disinfected properly, and is free of pathogen microorganisms, such as E.coli.
Following the success of last year, Kemira’s solution that naturally breaks down into carbon dioxide and water is once again used in Seine Amont to ensure harmful microorganisms are removed without leaving behind toxic by-products.
As the only performic acid based solution available in Europe, KemConnect DEX offers a chlorine-free alternative to less sustainable wastewater treatment methods and uses innovative technology to enhance operations with accurate dosing and reduced energy consumption. It was selected by the Greater Paris Sanitation Authority ahead of the Olympics after a careful evaluation process.
“Kemira’s sustainable solution helps our customers to ensure water safety and meet regulatory requirements without leaving behind harmful by-products”, says Tuija Pohjolainen-Hiltunen, Kemira’s EVP, Water Solutions. “We’re happy to continue participating in the broader effort of improving the water quality in the river Seine.”
In total, three sites will be open to the public from July 5 to August 31 to take a dip in the Seine for free. The disinfection works began in the beginning of June.
Kemira supports one of several wastewater treatment operators that discharge into the Seine.
Performic acid recently got approved by EPA in the U.S. and will become commercially available in markets across the U.S. Read more here: Kemira Advances KemConnect™ DEX in the United States with EPA-Registered Core Ingredient – Kemira
For more information, please contact:
Kemira Oyj
Jenni Vuorela, Communications Manager
Tel. +358 40 186 4094
jenni.vuorela@kemira.com
Kemira is a global leader in sustainable chemical solutions for water-intensive industries. We deliver tailored products and services to improve the product quality, processes, and resource efficiency of our diverse range of customers. Our focus is on water treatment, as well as on fiber and renewable solutions – enabling sustainability transformation for our customers. In 2024, Kemira reported annual revenue of EUR 2.9 billion with a global team of some 4,700 colleagues. Kemira is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki www.kemira.com