In the Mons region of Belgium, the Ghlin stream suddenly turned fluorescent blue last week. If the cause of this phenomenon was not immediately known, the Public Service of Wallonia finally revealed on Wednesday April 28 that it was due to an accident in a local printing plant.
According to the statements of the spokesman of the Public Service of Wallonia, relayed by the Belgian media, " an ink container of approximately 400 liters was damaged during a manipulation in the printing plant and the ink flowed via a drain into the stream ». About 200 liters would have spilled onto the parking lot of the company before ending up in the creek, reports RTL Info.
A local cleanup company was called in to clean up the creek for the distance the ink had flowed (about 150 meters). The company intervened this Thursday. According to the Public Service of Wallonia, the cost of the intervention should be paid by the printing company. The Belgian media did not give any precise information on the potential harmfulness of the spilled ink and the consequences on the environment. According to the spokesman of the Public Service of Wallonia quoted by RTL Info, the accident did not cause any fish mortality. Analyses must be done.
A precedent in France in 2018
In 2018, a similar accident occurred in France. A technical failure at the Hélio Corbeil printing plant in Essonne had let 2000 liters of ink escape into the Seine resulting in a paint slick extending over two kilometers. A clean-up operation was set up.
