The Gardanne mining basin is undoubtedly one of the peri‐urban territories of the Bouches‐du‐Rhône where air pollution is a major issue both in terms of public health and the preservation of natural environments. The various industrial activities, including the aluminum smelter, have contributed to exacerbating pollution with metallic trace elements [1;2]. Indeed, Bauxite manufacturing by the Bayer process in alumina production is associated with a by‐product, bauxite residue (BR), also termed “red mud”, a complex mixture of elemental constituents. Throughout the world, BR storage sites have been sources of adverse effects on the environment and the Mange Gary site is not an exception. The purpose of this work falls within the context of the environmental transition policy undertaken by the aluminum plant.We investigated the impact of the BR from Mange Garri on some populations of Quercus pubescens.