At around 3 p.m., a drum of waste thinner, while being handled, spilled onto the concrete and hermetic floor of a workshop in a bodywork and trailer manufacturing company. The 150 employees present in the workshop managed to evacuate the building. The installations were shut down, and a strong odour of solvent was detected in the workshop. The workshop doors were opened to allow ventilation. The liquid was contained. Consumables that were present in the vicinity were removed from the workshop and the operator cleaned up the area. Absorbents were placed on the product, while sand and soiled rags were placed in a 900-litre tank provided for this purpose. The workshop was ventilated until the establishment was closed, and activity resumed normally the following morning. A 200-litre mixture of butyl acetate and xylene had spilled onto the floor.

At the time of the incident, a stock clerk was delivering a pallet to a wiring and braking workshop using a self-propelled forklift truck. The area was cluttered with elements required for the operations currently in progress. The stock clerk moved a spill containment tray containing 2 unbanded drums without installing a retaining lug. One of the drums tipped over and its contents spilled onto the floor. Several failures in the management of the event were also observed:

• the personnel’s lack of knowledge regarding the type of personal protective equipment to be worn,
• a lack of knowledge as to where the spill-control kits were stored,
• just enough absorbent materials to contain the product,
• ignorance of the procedure in the event of a product spill and particularly, how to trigger the fire alarm.

The operator modified the equipment following the incident. A closing tool was tested for strapping the drums. The operator modified the procedures and reinforced the operator training programme. Drills were conducted and incorporated into the emergency procedures.