An “incident” occurred Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. at the Arkema factory in Pierre-Bénite, near Lyon. It is a toxic gas leak, specifically boron trifluoride. If significant white smoke was released, no employee was injured, the company said in a press release.
“The workshop’s emergency shutdown was immediately triggered by the staff. The internal security teams quickly intervened to control the event” which was “limited inside the establishment”, she specifies. On the other hand, the index of “hazardous materials released” is evaluated at 3 on a scale of 6.
Investigations are underway to determine the exact circumstances of this incident. “The competent authorities (DREAL, town hall, external relief) have been informed”, concludes the company.