Pollution
Humain
Environnement
Economique

At around 9.45 pm, a fire broke out in the fume scrubbers of a household waste incineration plant (HWIP), which had been shut down since 22/02 for non-compliance with atmospheric emission standards. The municipal waste disposal facility was located on the site of this former HWIP. Before its shutdown, the plant supplied cogeneration steam for the heating of 5,000 homes, industrialists and administrations. The fire spread to the plastic ducts installed inside one of the two 85 m high chimneys where the flames escaped. Two nozzles were installed to protect the adjacent installations. At 10 pm, backup was requested. Nozzle holders could not be installed closer to the fire due to the risk of collapse of the tower’s metallic structure and the concrete structure. The top of the chimney collapsed inside the duct along with the metal walkway surrounding it. Over 120 firefighters responded to the incident, and the fire was finally extinguished at 1.40 am. The 500 t of HW remaining in the pit of the transfer centre were removed. Faced with the risk of collapse, the Prefect established a 100 m safety perimeter around the chimney. 400 people were evacuated, 120 of which spent the night in a gymnasium that was made available. The neighbouring school, a hotel and a mail sorting centre were closed. The tramway could no longer enter the terminal. Four days later, 57 families evacuated could still not go home. The assessment on the internal and external cracks that appeared in the chimney showed no risk of imminent collapse. However, new assessments were carried out in order to propose demolition scenarios as quickly as possible. After examining the various elements, the Prefect decided to order demolition of the chimney. This operation scheduled for 26/03 was to be carried out using explosives, which would require establishing a 250 m safety perimeter, evacuating the residents and closing the RD 7. The line of enquiry indicated arson. Since the shutdown of the facilities, people have tried to obtain the copper from the cables.