ARIA 5132 – Courbevoie

Gas boiler accidentology is marked by a high proportion of explosions and fires. The Courbevoie thermal power station accident dated 30 March 1994 has left a deep scar on the minds of the people due to the seriousness of the consequences and the extent of damage in a highly urbanised zone.

The analysis of gas boiler accidents is based on a sample of 121 French accidents listed in the ARIA database. After a foreword on the activities involved, typology and consequences of the accidents, the main risks related to the use of fuel gas are examined such as gas leakage before the boiler, explosion in the combustion chamber, etc. Lastly, the analysis of these accidents reveals that one out of three accidents occurs in transitory phase and that the main causes are rarely due to purely technical reasons.

Published in 2008