[ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES] Chemical incident at a food processing plant in Rhone

April 9, 2020, 2:30 p.m. A thick cloud—yellowish at first and then reddish—escaped from a tank at a Rhone food processing plant. During a weekly cleaning operation, sulfuric acid had been mistakenly poured into a tank of nitric acid. The Rhone and Greater Lyon fire and rescue service (SDMIS) was immediately alerted and worked to secure the area. Given the chemical risk, they urged the company to call on the teams at Séché Urgences Interventions (SUI) to neutralize and remove the product. The operation required experts with very specific know-how and technical means. Throughout the intervention, the firefighters secured the site and supervised the operations.

Defining and validating the protocol

As soon as they arrived on site, the SUI experts, equipped with Tychem® suits adapted to chemical risks and self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA), sampled the contents of the tank. With a capacity of 2,500 liters, the tank contained about 1,300 liters of a mixture of concentrated nitric acid (around 50%) and concentrated sulfuric acid (96%).

Based on this information, the SUI experts requested support from the Séché Environnement group’s research and development department to define the operating procedure. The protocol was then quickly submitted to the authorities and validated by the Rhone population protection office (DDPP), the local department in charge of monitoring this classified facility for environmental protection (ICPE).

Pumping, stabilizing, and removing 2,300 liters of hazardous products

The first step was to stabilize the mixture to avoid any risk of an uncontrolled chemical reaction. To do this, the SUI team prepared and added 1,000 liters of reagent to the tank using a pump suitable for strong acids.

The pumping could then begin to transfer the 2,300 liters of the mixture to ADR drums suitable for hazardous materials. The tank, pump, and transfer line were then thoroughly cleaned to allow the workshop to resume its activities.

The mission didn’t end there though. The mixture still had to be transported to a specialized hazardous waste management center to be treated according to the applicable standards. The SUI team quickly mobilized an ADR transport vehicle specially equipped for transporting hazardous chemicals and transferred the contents of the drums to it. Then it was time to head to the Trédi site in Hombourg (Haut-Rhin), which specializes, within the Séché Environnement group, in the physico-chemical treatment of hazardous waste.

RESOURCES USED
4 experts
accustomed to handling chemical emergencies
A special pump for strong acids
to transfer the reagent into the tank
1 compressor unit
for the SCBA tanks
1 tank truck
equipped with special caps for strong acids
1 ADR-approved 26-ton carrier vehicle
for transporting hazardous materials
1,000 L IBCs and ADR drums
(for transporting hazardous materials)
Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBA)
Tychem® suits

Regardless of the substances involved, the fields of intervention, or the types of disasters, the SUI teams always find a quick, simple, and effective solution to secure operations and handle the transport and treatment of hazardous waste.

They benefit from all the know-how and experience of the Séché Environnement group, especially in terms of R&D and waste handling capacity.

Their triple QSE certification (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45 001) as well as their ability to initiate emergency operations with personnel trained and authorized to deal with chemical risks are critical assets for ensuring safety throughout the operation.