Le Figaro Nantes
The message posted early Monday morning, on a Facebook page, will have aroused many comments going in the same direction.
A resident of Malville (Loire-Atlantique), a town located about thirty kilometers west of Nantes, writes that she heard there, on the night of Sunday December 18 to Monday December 19,
"a very loud noise like a blowing which stops and starts again”
.
A version confirmed by other Internet users.
Some describe a noise similar to a
“giant hot air balloon”
.
Others mention a
"strange and creepy noise"
heard
"three times in a row"
.
Quickly, residents of the sector will attribute this to the Cordemais coal-fired power plant, one of only two of this type still in operation in France.
They were right.
Safety valve opening
It is from this industrial site that the noise originated.
The management of the site explained this in a press release.
“On the night of December 18 to 19, 2022, noise from the Cordemais power plant was heard by residents living near the site.
These noise nuisances occurred following the opening of the safety valve while production unit n°5 was in operation”
, it is written.
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This incident is said to be the result of a fault in a temperature sensor which caused the pressure to rise too much.
"The opening of these valves, which are safety devices, leads to the emission of plumes of water vapor and causes noises that can be heard around the site for a few minutes"
, specifies the management of the plant.
Frequent security tests
If this is a malfunction, the noisy opening of the safety valve is far from being a first.
Tests are regularly carried out in this area.
The latest, on production unit no. 4, took place on 27 November.
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“
At Cordemais we are used to it, but indeed, it resonates far enough!
“
Explained Daniel Guillé, the mayor of Cordemais, to our colleagues from France Bleu Loire Océan.
“
I understand that this can be worrying
.
There is nothing dangerous at all, but it is difficult to predict
,” he added.