15 June 2021

When a truck accident threatens a river

Séché Urgences Interventions La-Guerche-de-Bretagne Environmental emergencies and risk prevention Emergency interventions and safeguarding

In 2019, a Séché Urgences Interventions (SUI) operation saved the fragile ecosystem of a river in the Mayenne region. As a wrecked truck leaked its cargo, SUI teams quickly deployed the boats, quads and booms needed to operate in this difficult-to-access terrain.

February 2019. On a national road in Mayenne, a heavy goods vehicle overturns as it crosses a bridge and falls into the void. Fortunately, the driver is unharmed, but action must be taken quickly: the foodstuffs that the truck was carrying are spilling into the river and risk being dispersed by the current. The carrier and its insurer mandate Séché Urgences Interventions.

It was impossible to intervene before cranes came to lift the truck but once the vehicle was out of the water, the SUI team wasted no time. The river is in full winter flood and the vegetation makes it particularly difficult to access, but within a few hours they manage to get their boats into the water and set up booms to hold back the goods.

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5 days to save a river

It will take nearly 5 days of mobilization to recover almost the entire cargo and save the river. To minimize the environmental impact of such an accident it is vital to intervene as quickly as possible, and to have the appropriate means at hand.

RESOURCES
12 team members for 5 days
Booms to recover goods
Inflatable boats to maneuver nimbly on the river
Quads to lift waste from the river to the skips
Long-travel excavators to recondition waste
Skips for non-hazardous waste storage

As evidenced by its triple QSE certification (ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45 001), SUI is perfectly prepared to carry out this type of intervention, guaranteeing the best conditions of safety for people and for the environment. As a boating license is essential for any intervention on inland waters, all crew members have their license. They are also trained in the use of quads, very useful on difficult-to-access terrain.

ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY?

The right thing to do:

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