A fire broke out on the evening of Saturday 15 May at the Fibre Excellence pulp mill in Saint-Gaudens, classified as a "Seveso II high threshold" plant. A boiler used to burn production waste caught fire, requiring the intervention of about sixty firemen. No one was injured in the fire, but about 20 staff members were evacuated. A safety perimeter of 200 meters around the boiler was established.
The prefecture of Haute-Garonne explains the cause of the fire:
"The black liquor boiler at the Fibre excellence site suffered a loss of seal at 7:20 pm. Molten sodium at 950°C (saline) leaked out, which generated low intensity explosions, mainly due to contact with water. Some smoke was also observed. The impact of this incident is limited within the site.»
In accordance with regulatory procedures, the plant shut down the boiler feed, which stopped the flow of salt. Sandbags were placed near the salt piles following the incident to prevent further contact with liquid products.
The prefecture indicated that the storage of chlorine dioxide and sodium chlorate, which classify the site as "Seveso high threshold", are far from the disaster area, and that the measurements carried out did not indicate any toxicity in the air.
Located at the foot of the Pyrenees since the 1950s, the Fibre Excellence Saint-Gaudens plant produces 300,000 tons of bleached pulp each year, from hardwood and softwood.
