2023-12-21 20:00:00
Zoning de Gosselies, rue des Cerisiers, next to Charleroi airport. A former building of Car Oil, a company which went bankrupt, is now owned by Santerra. But this huge 2000 square meter warehouse is filled with hydrocarbons – chemicals – mainly industrial lubricants. This type of lubricants are often toxic, irritating and carcinogenic.
And if it were to catch fire, points out an alarming report from the Belgian expertise office EFSafety (of December 13, 2022, commissioned by the owner Santerra) which reached us, the consequences would be catastrophic: firstly, thick harmful smoke could extend up to 10 kilometers around the warehouse, in an area inhabited by 350,000 people. Then, the industrial building being 250 meters from the runway of Charleroi airport, the expert also points out the possibility that it would be necessary interrupt air traffic like in Geneva last year and stop part of the activities in the Gosselies zone.
EFsafety report: fire risk zone ©IPM Graphics
Questioning, but no “imminent danger” according to the authorities
But that’s “if” the building catches fire. Because almost a year ago to the day, people broke into the warehouse to dump the oils: civil protection had to intervene and a specialized company came to clean up to reduce soil pollution. and the neighboring watercourse – an intervention billed €80,000 to the Walloon Region. “After this spill and the subsequent clean-up, the City of Charleroi, the Walloon Region, the firefighters and civil protection concluded that there was no “imminent danger”, that is to say that “There is no risk of the hydrocarbons igniting on their own,” we are told at the mayor’s office, in charge of security in the local territory. To put it clearly: unless there is a break-in and arson, there is no “immediate danger” according to the authorities.
Move along, there’s nothing to see ? Not really. Because in the event of a fire, the consequences would indeed be catastrophic. The warehouse is dilapidated and abandoned: the hydrocarbons are stored there in bulk without respecting health or environmental standards, the fire detection equipment is out of order, the electricity (fortunately cut off) presents risks of short circuit and there is no safety equipment in working order. And moreover, the building itself is at risk, since repeated water infiltration at the roof level has weakened its structure, specifies the expert report. And it is possible to break into the building, since individuals did it a year ago.
The interior of the Santerra warehouse, rue du Cerisier in Gosselies. Bulk oil has been piled up for 4 years. ©DR
The owner worried, the parquet tempers
The warehouse owner is complaining about the situation. The problem, according to Santerra, is that the hydrocarbons are placed under judicial seal: “I can’t do anything until the seals are lifted. By purchasing the building in December 2018, I committed to cleaning it up, but in March 2019 the courts seized the contents of the warehouse and I no longer have access to them. I was only able to clean the outside of the site,” explains Joris Crynen, the manager. “It’s been like this for almost 5 years, and no one does anything. It’s terrifying.” He specifies that he has asked several times to have the seals removed, which has always been refused (Editor’s note: a dispute between the current owner and the former over “who owns the contents of the warehouse” as well as environmental offenses are leading to prosecution).
At the Charleroi public prosecutor’s office, Daniel Marlière – in charge of the case and also very critical of Santerra – tempers: “The risk is more limited today than when this report was produced. I say this since there was no decision on an “immediate risk” after assessment, following the end of 2022. The products must obviously be evacuated and processed in the correct recycling channels, but neither the new owner nor the old one have managed to reach an agreement on who does what. However, without judgment, it is impossible to characterize the products, to know if they have value and to whom they belong. A reflection which infuriates the owner, who underlines just like the floor that even if the products – which are not labeled – had any value, after so many years… they have become waste!
Good news despite everything, a judgment in the case is expected in early 2024. Hoping that there will be no disaster between now and then? Because we repeat: if it burns, we will only have our eyes to cry.
The interior of the Santerra warehouse, rue du Cerisier in Gosselies. Bulk oil has been piled up for 4 years. ©DR
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