Ambès: Initial emergency response

The first emergency response measures taken were to ensure the safety of personnel and installations:

• alerting authorities and fire service
• activating the internal emergency plan
• switching on foaming agent spraying systems to prevent evaporation of volatile fractions and thus reduce the risks of fire
• evacuating all personnel onsite
• stopping operations and cutting the power
• requesting the closure of the nearby major road.

To ensure the safety of personnel, all onsite operators were required to wear a chemical cartridge respirator for the first few months of the operations. All the personnel also underwent regular medial examination (blood and urine tests) to ensure that their health was not affected.

The closure of the crude oil depot forced Vermilion Emeraude Rep to temporarily stop the exploitation of the Lake Parentis oil wells in the Landes region of France, from which the oil is transported by pipelines to be stored in these tanks. A few days later, the exploitation could be partially restored, with the oil being transported by road to other storage facilities in the region.