A new leak at the TotalEnergies refinery in Donges. Of crude oil was spilled into the Loire during the night from Saturday to Sunday. There was a two-centimeter breach in the weld of a pipe around 11 p.m. at a place where oil is unloaded, above the Loire. Since then, interventions have been underway to limit pollution of the river. The leak was stopped shortly before two in the morning. The quantity of product spilled into the river is “less than 15 cubic meters”writes the TotalEnergies group in a press release. The oil contaminated an area of approximately 500 square meters. To prevent the pollution from spreading, sausages were placed in the water from Saturday evening. And this Sunday morning, the hole in the pierced pipe was blocked.
500 cubic meters of polluted water
Following this leak, sausages were placed in the water to minimize the spread of pollution. “The double absorbent barrier system was very effective”estimates Vincent Demargne, director of the Donge refinerys. “Investigations on the Loire and the banks continue”. Teams from the refinery and SDIS went to inspect the banks this Sunday morning. They “found no visible trace of hydrocarbon” according to TotalEnergies. An air check was also carried out. “The measurements that were taken did not reveal anything abnormal. And the Air Pays de la Loire sensors also show normal measurements”, explains Vincent Demargne. Additional analyzes will be requested in the coming weeks.
The director of the refinery recalls that there are frequent checks. He also highlights the amount invested for pipe maintenance: 50 million euros per year. Despite these investments, leaks are recurring at the refinery. In September 2024, for example, there was a flaming hydrogen leak on the site. Without forgetting, the huge naphtha leak of December 2022. 800,000 liters of gasoline were spilled into the Loire.
A new leak denounced by an environmental association
The speech from the management of the Donges refinery is not enough to convince the Donge Environmental Association of Risk Zones and the PPRT (AEDZP). “Another leak and when will the next one be?”asks its president, Marie-Aline Le Clerc. She is angry “What worries us above all is the day when we really have a very serious accident. Knowing that we already came close to disaster in December 2022 with this naphtha leak. But each time, the industrial , echoed by the state services, say that everything is under control and unfortunately, we still have several examples where we have had this type of communication and we have noticed behind the scenes that this is not the case.
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