A column of smoke visible for more than 10 km around, necessarily that worries. Sunday June 13 around 3 pm, a fire broke out at the "ecosite" of Semardel, a semi-public company for waste recovery, in Vert-le-Grand (Essonne). This Monday, the authorities want to be "reassuring" and rule out "any risk of pollution". "The fire broke out around 3 pm Sunday in a locker (
Editor's note: a sealed pit
) in which are buried household waste, non-dangerous and non-toxic, recalls Bernard Sprotti, president of Semardel and former mayor by Breuillet. It is believed that heat and wind may be the source of the fire. On site, 47 firefighters were hard at work, as well as our technical teams, including nine Semardel machines (
Editor's note: plus 18 firefighters
).
The fire was brought under control at around 8 p.m., with surveillance throughout the night.
But some residents and elected officials wonder about the communication made to the population.
Vert-le-Grand, Sunday June 13.
The plume of smoke was visible for several miles around.
Tuesday 91
Because the prefecture of Essonne did not publish a statement on its Twitter and Facebook accounts until Sunday around 8 p.m.
The instruction to remain confined at home was not enough to reassure the population.
“The municipalities affected by the smoke emissions have been notified in order to be able to alert their population and provide them with shelter.
The three main ones are Marolles-en-Hurepoix, Leudeville and Vert-le-Grand ”, we can read there.
The prefecture advised against “lasting exposure to smoke by staying inside homes and closing doors and windows, especially at night”.
An announcement considered by some as "late".
"We sealed off in the house"
"Thank you to the prefecture for warning us this evening to take shelter when we have suffered since 2:30 pm a plume of smoke that has invaded the entire town of Vert-le-Grand," Stéphanie laughs. “We were all outside with our children, and at 5 pm, warned by a friend from Mennecy, we sealed ourselves in the house. We must cross our fingers so that the fumes were as less toxic as possible, ”continues a user.
The cities cited in the press release were caught off guard.
“I received the email from the prefecture at 7:23 pm.
The wind had already turned, the fire was under control, recalls the mayor of Leudeville Jean-Pierre Lecomte.
I had been told earlier in the day that the fumes were not toxic.
So it didn't make sense for me to alert the population at this late hour, there is nothing like it to scare people.
He prefers to praise "good country sense".
"When I got home in the afternoon, and smelled the smoke, I immediately closed the windows…"
"No sign of toxicity in the air", assures Semardel
If the population phenomenon had been more important, Jean-Pierre Lecomte would have relied on the city's social networks, "and word of mouth which works very quickly in our small town of 1600 inhabitants".
For the mayor of Marolles-en-Hurepoix, it was also difficult to transmit the recommendations of the prefecture.
"I only have the display panel in the town, but it remains limited in terms of exposure, like the town's website, which is rarely consulted on a Sunday afternoon," explains Georges Joubert.
The prefecture defends its recommendations: "Any release of smoke that may cause inconvenience even when it does not contain any harmful substance, residents have been recommended to avoid long-term exposure to fumes, in particular at night", replies to us. -she in a press release.
In the aftermath of the disaster, Bernard Sprotti wants to be totally "reassuring".
“The first analyzes showed no sign of toxicity in the air, insists the president of Semardel.
Our general management will renew in the coming days other analyzes on the fallout of smoke and we will obviously provide feedback on this fire.
If the prefecture has advised people to stay at home, it is for the precautionary principle.
But we want to send a very reassuring message to the populations.
"
Analyzes will be carried out, recommendations issued
These words do not convince everyone.
“No risk of pollution?
Hervé is surprised.
Plants create pollution by burning and this is notably why we no longer have the right to burn them in our garden!
"Jean Féret, a former elected representative of Mennecy, specifies:" There is wood, paper and also plastic and other not nice materials to burn in the open air.
Storing polluted water that has been used by firefighters can become a problem.
"
The prefecture also announces that "dust fall analyzes will be carried out under the plume of smoke by an approved laboratory", as of tomorrow Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Pending the results of these analyzes, it is recommended, "as a precaution , to wash the fruits and vegetables produced in the vegetable gardens, ”concludes the prefecture.
