This leak, detected on Saturday November 23 at 10:50 p.m., created “a trickle of flow which led to an iridescence of a surface area of approximately 500 m2 in the Loire”, specified the Loire-Atlantique prefecture in a press release.
“This area could be partly contained by a double containment system via floating booms despite climatic (wind, swell) and natural (ebb tide) conditions which make it difficult to encircle this iridescent zone.”
“The maneuvers carried out immediately by the mobilized intervention teams (…) made it possible to stop the flow of crude oil into the Loire at 1:40 a.m.,” indicates TotalEnergies, which mentions a quantity of product escaped in the Loire “less than 15m3”. A product collection device at the leak, then a collar to permanently seal the loss of containment, were then put in place.
“The reconnaissance carried out on the banks and on the Loire, both by the refinery teams and those of the SDIS, did not find any visible trace of hydrocarbon,” continues TotalEnergies, which also carried out atmospheric measurements in the town of Donges to monitor air quality. These “did not note any anomaly”.
Following a visit to the inspection of classified installations of the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (Dreal) carried out on Monday, November 25, an accident report was requested from TotalEnergies to clarify the origin of the leak. “The leaking pipes are recent pipes replaced in 2021 which were subject to a leak test before being put into service”, the next regulatory inspection of which was planned for 2026, indicates the Loire-Atlantique prefecture. Visual surveillance and samples in the Loire will be carried out again in the coming days, while cleaning of the ship present at the dock during the accident will begin this Tuesday.
Remember that in 2012, Total was sentenced to 300,000 euros by the Saint-Nazaire criminal court for pollution in the Loire that occurred in 2008, after a fuel leak of nearly 500 tonnes from the Donges refinery. The oil group was also ordered to pay 80,000 euros to the LPO for ecological damage. More recently, in December 2022, a leak from the refinery caused the flow of 770,000 liters of gasoline within the site.
© An article from the editorial staff of Mer et Marine. Reproduction prohibited without consent of the author(s).
