In a wooden pallet recycling plant located on the former site of a company recovering electrical transformers, a fire of unknown origin broke out at around 4 am in a 2 000 m² wood storage area. The security guard spotted the fire and called the emergency services, who responded using several water nozzles. A thick cloud of smoke was seen above the village. The inspection authorities for classified facilities observed that the wood stock was likely to have been soiled or treated with chemicals and that the volume of the wood stored was greater than the quantity allowed by the authorised operating regime. An emergency order recommending the analysis of underground water in the site and in the neighbouring farming areas was issued. The 3/09, the wind reactivated the smouldering, requiring a new emergency response. The prefect then took several orders: suspension of activities, emergency site cleanup and disposal of waste, as well as formal notice to regularize the administrative situation of the company. Three months will ultimately be needed to extinguish the fire. The 15/09, a specialized agency installed equipments to monitor air quality. Analyses released on 18/11 showed significant air emissions of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The 26/11, veterinary services took samples of milk in a farm nearby. A contamination is revealed with concentrations of pollutants well above the regulatory limits for the marketing of foodstuffs (EC Regulation 1881/2006/CE). The farm is placed under sequestration. Gradually, the investigation zone was increased from 1 to 2 km radius in March 2009 then to 5 km in April. On 25/05/2009, the surveillance zone was extended to 40 municipalities by prefectural order then to 42 municipalities in August 2009. In July 2009, a specialized agency announced that the origin of the contamination of soils would be difficult to determine beyond a 2 km radius. In total, 914 farms have been investigated. Sanitation protocols were launched and 2 255 animals were slaughtered (cattle, sheep, pigs and horses). Meal rendering were burned in a local cement factory, the grease that may have contained PCBs were treated in Belgium. Nearly 187,000 l of raw milk were eliminated. The waste generated in the disaster weremostly made of crushed wood stocks and sludge from land clearing. The transportation of these wastes in specialized areas took place between the 10/07 and 31/07/2009; 70 trucks will be needed to remove 1 678 tons of wood and 8.14 tons of sewage sludge. A complementary transportation was dedicated to polluted personal protective equipment, extinction waters and retention basin cover. However, 7,600 cubic meters of contaminated land are still to be removed from the site. Given the amount of cleanup costs (close to 2 million euros) and given that the site is now considered with responsibility failure (the company was put into liquidation on 23/7/2010), the intervention of a public body will be needed to ensure site safety and propose a sustainable management of the situation. In January 2011, three farms are still partially under sequestration. The French agency for food safety, consulted repeatedly, provided measures to mitigate risks of contamination in the food chain. The investigation (including analysis), destruction of animals and products, and compensation are evaluated at 4.5 million euros at end January 2011. The decree and order dated 19/06/09 (Decree establishing a compensation scheme and laying down detailed rules for the estimation of slaughtered animals and destroyed food products on the orders of the administration during a contamination of agricultural products) allowed the state to compensate for the heaviest part of the pollution (destruction of animals and contaminated feed). In addition, Article 26 of the Agricultural Modernization Law of 27/07/10 established a risk management in agriculture and agricultural disasters national fund. This fund is intended to help financing management features against climate, sanitary, phytosanitary and environmental hazards in agriculture.
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