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FRANCE-FIRE-CHEMICALS-ENVIRONMENT,LEAD
Fire at French chemical plant extinguished
CAEN, France, Sept 27, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Firefighters said Friday they have
extinguished a huge blaze that broke out at a chemical factory in northern
France and forced authorities to close schools and warn of pollution risks
for the river Seine.
The fire erupted early Thursday at a storage facility near the city of
Rouen owned by Lubrizol, a manufacturer of industrial lubricants and fuel
additives that is owned by the billionaire American investor Warren Buffett.
No injuries were reported in the blaze, which sent acrid black smoke
billowing over some 22 kilometres (14 miles).
“The fire is out… we are keeping manpower at the site to continue the
cooling of all drums,” Chris Chislard, a spokesman for the regional fire
service, said.
He said some white smoke was still coming from the factory and there was an
“unpleasant smell”.
More than 200 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blaze at the plant,
just a few kilometres from the centre of the city of around 100,000 people.
Lubrizol said the fire damaged a storage facility, a drumming warehouse and
an administrative building, and that the cause was still unknown.
It advised residents not to eat fruit or vegetables from gardens without
washing them thoroughly, and not to touch the soot or other particles on the
ground.
Pierre-Andre Durand, the top regional official, said Thursday that that
floating anti-pollution booms had been placed on the Seine due to the risk
that fuel or waste water from the site could overflow retention ponds.
Prosecutors have opened an inquiry into the cause of the fire, which began
when a booming explosion woke up residents at around 2:30 am (0030 GMT) on
Thursday.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1329 hrs