Le Figaro Nantes,
Almost six days.
This is the time it took the TotalEnergies teams, helped by firefighters from the Loire-Atlantique Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (Sdis), to overcome a fuel leak at the Donges refinery. .
This had been detected, Wednesday, December 21, shortly before 9 p.m., on the agitator of one of the tanks located in the Magouëts storage park.
This Tuesday, at midday, the prefecture indicates that the
“leak has been stopped”
.
However, the current intervention is not over.
Read alsoNantes: the trial of the woman who had bitten a policeman with blood at Christmas dismissed
“The operator, in conjunction with State services, is working to recover the product present in the retention basin. Three pumping lines are now activated and make it possible to recover the container, ”
it is mentioned in a press release.
Put in place from the start of the incident, the air quality measurements carried out by the Regional Health Agency (ARS), Sdis 44 and Air Pays de la Loire will also continue
"in different areas from the city.
»
Detailed report within two months
According to the State services, which recognize the
"unpleasant nature of the odors perceived in the vicinity of the site"
, the first results
"present values well below the health reference thresholds".
The prefecture is careful to mention that the
“benzene samples taken did not reveal any worrying data.
She also specifies that an inspection, carried out by the services
of the regional management of the environment, development and housing (DREAL), took place this Tuesday morning.
Its objective:
“to verify the implementation of the emergency measures prescribed by prefectural decree to TotalEnergies”
.
The text referred to was published on Friday, December 23.
In it, the prefecture lists five immediate measures that must be taken.
It is :
securing the site facilities;
the emptying operations of the retention basin;
carrying out analyzes of ambient air samples during the active phase of the accident;
carrying out measurements on the quantities of benzene;
taking samples from surface and underground waters as well as from sediments and soils.
In addition, the prefect summons the operator of the refinery to provide him with a detailed report within two months because this accident
“led to emissions in particular of volatile organic compounds in the environment likely to impact populations”
.
The State representative also said he feared
"pollution of water, soil, air and foodstuffs"
because the retention basin, in which the escaped gasoline was recovered, is not equipped with a sealing device.
SMS alert system
Concerned, the residents of the refinery are waiting for details from the operator.
They would like to know the nature of the leak and the quantity of product spilled.
"For the moment, we have only had limited and partial information"
, regrets Marie-Aline Le Cler, the president of the Donge association of risk zones and the PPRT (ADZRP).
They also want to obtain accurate readings of all air quality measurements and not just those published by Air Pays de la Loire.
“We are going to put pressure on the prefecture to obtain them
,” she announces.
A request has already been made to this effect by the local branch of the League for Human Rights (LDH).
Read alsoTransport in Nantes: reduced offer on Saturdays from January before a probable increase in prices this summer
Marie-Aline Le Cler underlines that this Tuesday afternoon, the smells of gasoline are still perceptible in Donges:
“People are asking more and more questions.
Just look at the number of messages posted on social networks in recent days.
Above all, she points to the lack of information at the start of the incident:
“
Last Thursday morning, many people were present on the market of the town as if nothing had happened when the prefecture had advised against be outside.
»
To remedy this, the association she chairs wants the SMS alert system set up by the town hall to be activated as soon as the operator triggers an internal operation plan (POI).
It also recommends the installation of an additional sensor within the Donges refinery to permanently measure the dangerous pollutants emitted, like what already exists at the Gonfreville-l'Orcher refinery (Seine-Maritime).
