The investigation is still ongoing to determine the causes of the fire which ravaged part of the Technival premises on Thursday evening in Tipaerui. Management claims to have put in place an action plan that same evening to limit pollution. All employees kept their jobs and “good hope to leave very quickly”.
“There is zero technical unemployment in the company! This is not our policy. » Four days after the spectacular fire which destroyed part of its premises, the general director of Technival Cyrille Bachelery displays a fighting spirit. The company specializing in the collection, packaging, treatment and recovery of waste has certainly lost offices at its head office, and part of its processing services, where twenty employees worked, but it has absorbed the blow and has “good hope to leave very quickly”.
“We are thinking about the consequences for Polynesia”
For the moment, it is impossible to access the site, since the investigators’ investigations are continuing, the possibility of arson having not been completely ruled out. “We collaborate, it takes its course”continues the director. Once this part is completed, it will be time to proceed with the treatment of the site and its deconstruction. In the meantime, the company is already looking for a new hangar. “Loss is loss,” it is not encrypted at the moment, “but what matters is the restart of activity, everyone is working hard, we are really in action because we are thinking about the consequences for Polynesia”.
Because Technival knows itself to be a major player in the treatment of hazardous, so-called “special” waste, those which present a risk to people, their health and the environment. The company is notably the only one in the country to be approved for the collection and treatment of waste with infectious risks generated by healthcare professionals. It also manages the export of numerous wastes that do not have a local treatment system, such as pesticides, used oils or engine filters.
Pollution? “The eels are still there”
The explosions heard Thursday evening and the smoke generated raised fears of the worst for the environment. And in particular for the Tipaerui river, already affected by numerous episodes of pollution, linked to the industries of the valley. Recalling the certifications – ISO 14001, ISO 9001 – the ICPE classification and its approval for waste treatment, Cyrille Bachelery explains that a “action plan was put in place very quickly to stop pollution”. The director welcomes the mobilization of a “thirty employees” of Technival but also other companies in the group (TSP, Enviropol), from the night of the disaster “to pump water and block the rainwater network”. He remains awaiting the results of the analyzes carried out, by DIREN on the one hand, and by the company itself. And provides proof of limited impact, » our eels which are still in the river. The day after the fire, they were teasing the DIREN agents”.
Discussions are also continuing with insurance companies, “they are going well because they are discussing with a company that has standards and procedures”recalls Cyrille Bachelery. While waiting for better days, the company is continuing other aspects of its activity, particularly that linked to compost. We can see some of the employees, all smiles, near the agricultural fair.
