The TotalEnergies refinery in Donges, January 20, 2023 in Loire-Atlantique (AFP / LOIC VENANCE)
Several reports on the health effects of a leak at the TotalEnergies refinery in Donges (Loire-Atlantique) in December 2022 were made public on Friday, pointing to “acute exposure” to benzene but concentrations in the air maintained “below accidental thresholds”.
An impact study by Ineris (National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks) dated January 2023 notes that “the health risks are exclusively caused by benzene, the average daily concentration of which exceeds for (four of the nine days retained after the leak) the toxicological reference value for the acute exposure considered”.
The accidental thresholds were however “never exceeded during the incident, even with strong emissions over the first two days”.
According to TotalEnergies, which subsequently modelled atmospheric emissions linked to the volatilisation of petrol, the peaks in benzene concentration remain “below the thresholds which serve as a reference for occupational exposure risks”.
In December 2022, the leak caused the flow of 700,000 liters of gasoline. The refinery, classified as Seveso high threshold, presented its conclusions on Friday during a site monitoring commission.
According to the summary communicated by the prefecture at the end of the commission, “in view of the available scientific data, the estimated average concentrations and the duration of exposure, if a health effect (non-carcinogenic) cannot be formally excluded, it is considered improbable, particularly in view of its reversible nature”.
“The most documented health effects for short-term exposure to benzene are the hematological effects, in particular a reduced production of lymphocytes (white blood cells) which participate in the immune response. The available scientific data support the reversibility of this effect, as soon as exposure to benzene ceases,” according to the Loire-Atlantique prefecture.
Regarding carcinogenic effects, “the exposure was limited in time and the risk is only considered for longer periods of exposure.”
Concerned for almost two years about the health impact of the leak, local residents are outraged that the Ineris report dated January 2023 was not made public beforehand.
“We, the local residents, are outraged. We are only just discovering this report submitted to TotalEnergies and passed over in silence,” Marie-Aline Le Cler, president of the Dongeoise Association of Risk Zones, told AFP. For her, local residents should have been “immediately warned of the risks.”