Pollution
Humain
Environnement
Economique

Viscous glucose leaked out of a silo at a confectionery factory at around 1:15 p.m. Glucose was transferred to a silo that already contained 74 t of glucose at around 9:45 a.m. At around 10: 30 a.m., after 20 t of glucose had been transferred, a cracking sound was heard and a crack formed on the silo. The operator halted unloading and evacuated the area. The silo manufacturer was called at 11:00 a.m. and arrived at 1:30 p.m. At around 1:15 p.m., the silo sunk by at least 20 cm, causing glucose to spill out from underneath and onto the road. Firefighters were alerted at 1:20 p.m. Manholes were sealed and spill barriers were installed to prevent the spill spreading any further. The spilt glucose was cleaned up five days later by a specialist firm. In all, 87.4 t of glucose-laden sludge was sent to a composting facility.

The cause of the 95-t leak of glucose was a pipe under the silo that ruptured when the silo sank. The factory’s 50 workers were furloughed for between 6 and 11 days. In addition to the cost of the lost glucose (€33,000), there were operating losses, costs to clean and dispose of the waste, costs to replace the silo (at least €60,000), and the cost to install temporary facilities in order to get the plant back online. A sample taken at the wastewater treatment plant on 24/01 indicated that the COD discharge limit had been exceeded due to cleaning of the downed production lines.

The operator took the following measures:

  • invested in more efficient sealing systems;
  • looked into the possibility of controlling the silo’s valves from the outside (it was impossible during the incident to access the valves under the silo in order to shut them off and stop the flow of glucose);
  • created a procedure for use of the tank.

The operator is also considering whether to invest in one 100-t tank or two 50-t tanks to avoid having to shut down operations if a similar incident recurs.

A similar incident involving a burst vat of molasses occurred at an other sugar refinery on 13/01/18 (50938).