Thematic teachings – La référence du retour d'expérience sur accidents technologiques

Hazardous waste: beware of incompatibilities!

06/02/2019
Flash

Accidents caused by incompatible mixtures are not limited to newly-produced chemicals! The end of their life cycle can also be a source of risk. Several recent events in France and abroad confirm this, sometimes with dramatic consequences. This flash focusses on this issue, underlying the failures at the origin of the accidents and making a few recommendations to avoid their occurrence.

Forklifts : be careful, hazardous operations !

21/01/2019
Flash

Forklifts are often used for handling operations. They allow to carry toxic, flammable, explosive and other dangerous products on pallets. Manoeuvres can lead to hazardous situation with serious consequences : pollution or contamination following a split of products, fire ignited on hot spot created by the friction of the forklift forks, explosion of a fuel storage or electric batteries, intoxication due to CO/gas emission from the forklift… This newsflash presents 4 latest and significant technological accidents, caused by a handling with a f [...]

Feedback on the flooding of industrial sites in January 2018 in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region (France)

07/12/2018
Study

At the end of January 2018, the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region (BFC) suffered numerous episodes of intense rainfall and floods. The storm Eleanor was indeed, according to Meteo-France, accompanied the 4 and 5 of January of rainy precipitations and important snow on the east of France. These weather events have not been without impact on industrial facilities. Summarizing the results of the questionnaires received by the DREAL Bourgogne-Franche-Comté from the operators concerned, this document summarizes some elements of feedback.

Conveyor belt fires: Are the standards being met?

29/11/2018
Flash

Conveyor belts used to handle organic materials must meet standards defined by various French ministerial orders .These texts indicate that conveyor belts must comply with standard NF EN ISO 340 or standards NF EN 12881-1 and NF EN 12881-2 (self-extinguishing or flame-retardant conveyor belts). While these types of accident had seemed to have disappeared, in recent years there have been several occurrences. Are the standards always being met?

Meteorological events of early 2018 in France

18/10/2018
Flash

Without trying to predict the weather for late 2018 and the seasonal storms in the Cévennes of south-central France, we note that the first half of the year was marked by a number of floods impacting factories in France. In addition to the economic consequences (water damage, production stoppage, a period of technical unemployment for the employees, etc.) often observed in such circumstances, environmental damage was also reported.

Accidents related to incorrect circuit positioning

17/09/2018
Study

Fluid transfer is a common industrial operation. However, the incorrect positioning of transfer circuit during such operations, also referred to as poor alignment, is the cause of many accidents. This study, based on 372 events in the ARIA database, presents their characteristics and lessons learnt.

Mobile acetylene cylinders : Hazard potential not to be underestimated!

01/08/2018
Flash

Mobile acetylene cylinders are present in all sectors of activity owing to their common use on welding machines. Even if they look like risk free, these cylinders are real hazard potential ! Five major accidents in France since the beginning of 2018 drive us to remind to users and owners the risks associated to these cylinders.

Video “From incident to media crisis”

15/06/2018
Movie

How does a technically insignificant incident turn into a media frenzy? This new film, produced by the BARPI, explains the sequence of malfunctions that led to the release of a highly olfactory component. A timeline presents how the media crisis gains momentum. Discover the experience of those who witnessed the crisis first hand and the lessons learnt from the event through numerous interviews.

Beware of smoke from fire!

24/04/2018
Flash

Whether white (rich in aerosols or water vapour), grey (a mixture of aerosols and solid particles) or black (large solid particles), the smoke released from fires presents several risks. Beyond death from intoxication, fumes are a potential health hazard owing to the substances they contain. Smoke is also corrosive to metal structures or electronic components. Finally, they can accentuate the combustion of surrounding goods by pyrolysis.

Pallet fire in a combustible materials warehouse

24/04/2018
Accident report
FRANCE

A fire broke out at 10:15 am in a warehouse subject to authorization (item 1510 of the nomenclature of the French classified installations) at an external storage of wooden pallets. Employees are evacuated prior to the arrival of firefighters.

The economic consequences of the event are estimated at:

1,000 euros for material damage (destruction of 152 pallets);
4,500 euros for operating losses (evacuation of staff for 40 minutes).

The volume of the extinguishing water is evaluated at 50 m³. No damage to the environment is noticed by the operator [...]