AN INTEGRATED PROJECT TO ANALYZE AND DETERMINE THE CONSEQUENCES OF A CHEMICAL SPILL ON THE WEST COAST OF FRANCE: AN OPERATIONAL POINT OF VIEW THROUGH THE ECE INCIDENT

摘要

Within a few decades, the European coasts and seas endured major environmental incidents of chemical pollution. For example, the "levoli Sun" incident, October 31, 2000, which was transporting 4,000 tonnes of styrene or the "Ece" incident, February 01, 2006 in the Channel, with a cargo of 10,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid.rnWhen a disaster occurs, authorities aspire to a faster and more effective management of pollution to limit the consequences. To this end, French authorities which take response measures for health or economic protection during a marine pollution incident need efficient software tools to assess the risks related to marine pollution. This allows them to quickly set up a relevant safety area, the aim being to protect the populations and the environment, to mobilize the appropriate response tools and to anticipate the situation in the short or medium term.rnIt is in this particular and significant context of crisis management of marine pollution that the CLARA ("Calculation related to accidental releases in seawater") project was developed. This project, funded by the French Research Ministry, has been carried out, since November 2003, by the Ecole des Mines d'Ales, Cedre, Ifremer, Meteo-France and Ineris, in order to jointly simulate evolution of hydrodynamic flow, physicochemical characteristics of pollutants and to assess chemical behaviour in the marine environment (water and/or atmosphere). Concerning hazards, they will be defined in terms of effects on the aquatic environment, bio-accumulation capacities of substances in marine organisms and toxicological thresholds (e.g. IDLH: Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health). This software is a preliminary approach to assess toxicological and ecotoxicological risks of accidental marine spills.rnThis paper presents the model developed and its different functionalities through a concrete case: the Ece accident. This presentation takes place within an operational context and aims to highlight the restraints and needs of experts and operational responders when using this kind of tool.