Do you know hydrogen sulfide? This toxic gas has invaded the sewerage network of the Rovaltain business park, near Valence TGV station. The prefecture had to take measures to avoid any accident and ordered the closure of the company at the origin of the problem. Les Vergers Boirons, company with 200 employees specialized in frozen fruit, had to stop production on Friday July 22. A decision in consultation between the management and the prefecture.
The toxic gas escaped from the company’s wastewater in abnormally high quantities. “It is unheard of for 12 years that we have been working on this siteexplains Grégory Watine, general manager of the company. According to our diagnosis, this release of gas is linked to the exceptional temperatures that we have at the moment, and to the fact that we are subject to reductions in water consumption linked to the drought decrees of the prefecture. We have almost halved our consumption, which means that we have much more concentrated releases than usual.”
All work prohibited on the network
The toxic gas has spread to the entire sewerage network of the Rovaltain business park, so much so that the authorities are asking neighboring businesses to be very careful. Prohibition of carrying out work in the sewerage network and prohibition of opening the manholes towards these pipes, whether on public or private roads. The gas has even traveled to certain sectors of Valence, Saint-Marcel-les-Valence and Châteauneuf-sur-Isère, those which are connected to the same sewage network as Les Vergers Boirons. But in this case, the concentrations are much lower and there is no danger despite a rather unpleasant rotten egg smell
The presence of gas should gradually decrease since the company has stopped its production, but for the moment, management cannot give any date for the resumption of activity. “We are confident that the solutions we will implement will remedy the problem as soon as possible”, assures Grégory Watine.