Doris Leblond
OGJ Correspondent
PARIS, Aug. 27 -- The pipeline linking Fos-sur-Mer to Germany leaked 3,000 cu m of oil, polluting a natural fauna and flora reserve in the Provence region in southern France.
Ecology Secretary of State Chantal Jouanno described the pollution as “a real ecological disaster” and launched an inventory of all pipelines in France, the result to be divulged Sept. 15.
By the end November, Jouanno indicated, controls on all pipelines will be reinforced and a more frequent check of the installations, including gas lines, will be established. Gas lines are only checked thoroughly every 10 years, she discovered.
“We shall conduct a modernization plan of all these networks, which are strategic for the country,” she insisted, advocating “zero tolerance” for ecological and health risks.
