A fire during a maintenance operation
On August 26, 2020, a fire broke out at the Valorys waste treatment plant in Pluzunet, in the Côtes d’Armor department. The accident resulted in one fatality, a 46-year-old maintenance technician. Five other employees suffered carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke from the fire.
Forty-five firefighters from neighboring towns were dispatched to the scene at the time of the incident and were able to quickly bring the fire under control.
The Pluzunet facility began operations in 1997 to incinerate 170 tons of waste per day. It includes a shredding unit, a waste sorting center, and a facility for energy recovery from household waste. The Valorys plant is not included on the list of Seveso-classified industrial sites in the Côtes d’Armor department.
The incineration operations at the Valorys waste treatment plant have been suspended for some time. Some of the waste was redirected to other specialized facilities in Brittany as part of a collaboration between these various units, while another portion was sent to landfills in Gueltas or in Mayenne.
In December, the plant’s incinerator was brought back online to resume waste incineration. However, the heat cannot yet be redirected to the greenhouses for energy recovery. Emotions remain high among the site’s employees, especially since another accident has occurred: on October 8, a maintenance worker broke his leg while working in the incinerator.
The causes of the accident
According to an analysis by CODIS (the Fire and Rescue Operations Center), which coordinates the operational activities of the fire and rescue services in the Côtes d’Armor department, the fire was caused by the accidental restart of a turbine during a maintenance operation.
The accident is believed to have occurred due to oil spray in all directions caused by the turbine following the maintenance operation, which is believed to have sparked the fire. A thorough investigation is still underway to determine the exact causes of the accident, led by the Lannion gendarmerie. A forensic expert has since been appointed and is expected to submit his report by March 2021.
Industrial fires such as this one, regrettable as they may be, serve as a reminder of the constant vigilance required of all stakeholders in the industrial sector, given that zero risk is a myth. Sharing knowledge regarding the safety of people and industrial facilities, along with training, remain the two key means of improving the long-term control and management of industrial risks, particularly those related to fires. With 70 years of experience in the field of industrial safety and two technical centers that are unique in Europe, Gesip has established itself as a trusted provider of safety training.
