Pollution
Humain
Environnement
Economique

In a company dedicated to producing hunting ammunition, fire broke out on a pyrotechnic waste burning zone, on a day when the production facility was closed for annual holidays. A single entrance provided access to this excavated (50 x 30 m) zone, partially enclosed by a barricade and protected by a fire hydrant. To be accepted, all pyrotechnic waste required a preliminary authorisation issued by the Safety & Environment (SE) unit. Since the waste accepted from either the site itself or another company was transported in water, it was necessary for the materials to have dried to a certain extent before burning with the use of green powders. To be destroyed by burning, these waste materials needed to be laid out linearly along the foot of the excavation and typically on wood (e.g. pallets). The onsite presence of an equipped first response truck was mandatory whenever large quantities were being burned.

On July 24, while the technician assigned to the particular burner since 1987 was preparing the zone using a farm tractor, the powder spontaneously ignited. Stunned by the event, the employee driving the tractor was able to leave the scene unharmed. On July 28, during the morning hours and cognisant of the extreme volatility of the wastes present onsite, the SE unit manager was assisting 2 production technicians with set-up duties, since his 2 SE employees were absent from work, in proceeding with the scheduled elimination of these unburned materials (finished, wet gunpowder for hunting rifles and graphite), by means of raking and spreading the pyrotechnic waste onto pallets to facilitate drying. At the beginning of the afternoon and without the first response truck on the scene, the onsite team distributed pallets over the layers of waste in two runs. Around 3 pm, a spontaneous fire ignited near the position of the SE manager, who was trapped by the flames and smoke. The blaze propagated throughout the zone. The other two crew members were able to escape from the zone unhurt. One of them, a volunteer fire-fighter, sounded the alarm and began to combat the fire. The SE manager, who happened to be standing 30 m from where the fire sparked at the foot of the embankment, died from his injuries in less than an hour.

The fire would have been triggered by friction of the powder (dry and polluted, hence more sensitive) due to a pallet falling or skidding or the foot movement of the deceased manager. A disposable cigarette lighter was found intact yet inoperable adjacent to the combustion zone. Facility reactivation was made contingent upon the adoption of compensatory measures. Several aspects would be treated during the implementation of new measures: soil pollution capable of arising during burning; and the typology of targeted wastes.

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