At around 8:00 p.m., a forklift driver at a paint manufacturing plant spotted dust coming from pigment storage silos. He informed the production unit technician, who halted the titanium oxide (TiO2, a white mineral pigment) emptying sequence underway and notified his supervisor. After arriving, the supervisor saw TiO2 spilling out from the silo because the sleeve under the silo had become detached. The manual valve above the leak was closed, effectively stopping the spill at 8:10 p.m.

An estimated 12.6 t of TiO2 spilt out for between 15 and 25 minutes, coating 1000 m² of asphalt. The entire stormwater network was isolated and no TiO2 was discharged into it. The economic losses were estimated at between €25,000 and €30,000 based on how much TiO2 could be recycled. The plant was closed for the rest of the day to allow cleaning and prevent outgoing lorries from spreading the dust to the roads around the plant. The TiO2 was collected by hand and placed in flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs) away from the raw materials warehouse. The 16 m³ of water used for cleaning was pumped by a specialist contractor into a tanker truck and sent to a wastewater treatment plant.

According to the operator, shortly after the sequence for transferring TiO2 to the production unit had begun, the bottom portion of the sleeve (located 5 m above the ground at the silo’s bottom and used as a vibration damper) had become detached from its mount. The sleeve had been replaced just three weeks earlier. Identified as a sensitive component in 2016, the sleeve is checked and, if necessary, replaced every two months by maintenance.

A more reliable technology was found with the assistance of the group’s experts. It will be fitted in late 2018 or early 2019. The spill response procedure will be revised and will better include the particular nature of powder spills. As part of plans to upgrade the plant’s wastewater treatment plant in 2019, soil in the area around the silos will be sampled to look for potential signs of pollution.