On 16 January 2023, a fire broke out in a huge industrial building in Grand-Couronne, Seine-Maritime. Not classified as a Seveso site, it housed several companies, including a Bolloré Logistics warehouse containing 12,000 lithium batteries, which caught fire.
The fire, which was very impressive, ravaged this warehouse. It immediately raised alarm among elected representatives and local residents, who were still remembering the serious fire at the Lubrizol plant in Rouen in September 2019.
In response to these fears, the Prefect of Seine-Maritime, who was in office at the time, promised to be transparent and to reveal the results of the analyses carried out by the fire brigade and the post-accident unit. He kept his word:
- At the end of January 2023, a report was published with the first results of the samples taken;
- One month after the accident, a further update was given by the Prefect on the analyses carried out on site;
- At the beginning of July 2023, the full report from the post-accident unit was posted on the Internet.
In every case, the results were reassuring for the residents of Grand-Couronne and the surrounding area.
A spectacular fire but no risk to the population
A fire broke out at around 4.30pm on Monday 16 January 2023 at the Bolloré Logistics warehouse in Grand-Couronne, near Rouen. It gave off thick and heavy smoke, the clouds of which could be seen for several kilometres. Numerous explosions were also heard. Fortunately, there were no victims.
Inside the warehouse, more than 12,000 lithium batteries for electric vehicles burned up.
Then the flames spread into two other areas of the building, one of which contained 70,000 tyres. The combustion of the lithium batteries and tyres produced very impressive and malodorous smoke. Residents were extremely anxious, and many were worried about the risk to their health.
Faced with this situation, the Prefect of Seine-Maritime quickly reassured the public that there was no risk to the population. He also said that the results of the analyses would be published in public.
Reports available to all for transparency
After the fire at the Bolloré Logistics warehouse stocking lithium batteries near Rouen, the prefecture reacted immediately. The very next day, Tuesday 17 January 2023, it published the first results of the fire brigade’s analyses in a press release to reassure residents.
Then, on 15 February 2023, a more detailed update was given on the results of the analyses of the samples taken after the fire.
Finally, the post-accident unit that was set up after the accident reported its conclusions, which were available on the Internet from 4 July 2023. The environmental measurements carried out and their results were detailed, and proposals for post-accident monitoring were formulated.
What should we learn from the results of the analyses carried out after the fire?
After the fire, the measurements were taken in :
- Drinking water reservoirs and catchments;
- Surface water and water from the Seine;
- Water used to extinguish the fire;
- Off-site atmospheric fallout;
- Unburnt materials around the site.
Groundwater quality and ambient air quality were also measured off-site. All the results can be found in the post-accident unit report. They show that :
- The values of concentrations of fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5) correspond to those ‘already observed in Rouen’s agglomeration apart from any accidental event’;
- The values of various toxic substances (including hydrofluoric acid produced by the combustion of lithium) remained below the detection thresholds of the measuring equipment;
- The fire had no impact on the drinking water stored in reservoirs or on water drawn from catchments;
- There was an increase in suspended particulate matter (PM10) in the ambient air directly related to the fire, particularly in Grand-Couronne and Sotteville-lès-Rouen, but this increase remained limited and below the daily information and recommendation threshold.
These results are reassuring for the public, who were understandably worried after the fire, and are partly due to the rapid intervention of the fire brigade and the resources deployed to control and extinguish the blaze.