A fire broke out on a printing line in a plastics manufacturing plant. The installation was locked down, and the personnel brought the fire under control before the fire brigade arrived.

Belt slippage and overheating are believed to have been the cause of the fire.

Fires had already been reported at the site in 2018 (ARIA 51109) and earlier this year on another printing line (ARIA 54312). The Classified Facilities Inspectorate requested that the operator conduct an external audit on the operating conditions of all the printing lines, the causes of these various incidents and the associated action plan. Deposits of ink and splashes had been noted in the retention tanks, on the floor and the machines. Moreover, certain periodic inspections on the machines had not been carried out. The ink and solvent containers remained opened during production, which affected the ATEX zoning. The squeegee chambers were not fully hermetic on two lines, with leaks that filled the retention tanks. The personnel were not wearing their PPE.

The report of the audit, conducted by a specialised company, concluded that the following action plan was required:

• adjustment of the printing line operating conditions to bring them into line with the instruction manuals, particularly regarding the frequency of cleaning and maintenance and the use of closed ink trays;
• updating of the ATEX zoning within the printing workshop, taking into account the modifications made following the various fires (replacement of one of the destroyed lines by another line using different technology, etc.);
• compliance with safety data sheets: closed ink containers, proper use of personal protective equipment, ventilation of areas containing ink containers;
• replacement of non-hermetic scraper chambers with sealed chambers (estimated at €60 k per machine).