Toulouse incinerator: the silo that threatened to collapse fully emptied and secure
An ash silo had collapsed on November 29 in the household waste incineration plant in Toulouse. It has just been completely empty and secure.
On Monday, November 29, 2021, a silo 25 meters high containing 130 tonnes of flue gas purification residue bent at the base during a deposit operation on the site of the Société d’Exploitation Thermique du Mirail (SETMI) in Toulouse.
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Toulouse: a silo containing 130 tons of ash fails to collapse
Since this incident, Decoset, owner of the site, and Veolia, which operates it, have carried out operations to secure the silo, with the operational support of the Haute-Garonne firefighters, in order to be able to empty it of the waste it needs. contain, which are categorized as dangerous.
Silo vacuum operations began on Friday December 3. They ended on Wednesday, December 15: the silo is empty, “it no longer presents any risk and the verification of its condition will be able to begin” affirms the prefecture of Haute-Garonne. “Since the incident, the activity of the incinerator has continued at a reduced load, the control and treatment of fumes are not directed” state services.
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Will a new incinerator have to be built?
The incinerator will soon no longer meet emission standards for nitrogen oxides, NOx. Hence a heavy investment of 46 M € programmed by the Decoset union.
But in the longer term, by 2030, stricter standards call into question the very existence of the incinerator. Decoset has planned a major debate starting next year with the help of the National Commission for Public Debate, which has just appointed two guarantors. Should we build a new factory or not? This is the stake, knowing that Decoset has another one in Bessières but that with the increase in the population, even the treatment of the waste coming from the region, the tonnages to increase. Decoset has one advantage: if reconstruction were ever decided upon, it could be done on the same site without stopping the operation of the incinerator.