November 1st, 1986 - Sandoz Disaster in Basel: Crisis management and communication strategy.

35 Years Ago Already!

6 months after the Chernobyl disaster, a second environmental catastrophe struck Europe. The incident was later dubbed "TchernoBâle."

In the night from October 31 to November 1, shortly after midnight, a fire broke out in a warehouse belonging to the chemical company Sandoz. The first responders, 160 firefighters from nearby cities, faced a real inferno: exploding containers with unknown substances, fireballs over 50 meters high. Without knowing the nature of the products, how could one be sure of the adequacy of protective equipment?

Communication Management by Authorities:

An acrid smell, a mix of rotten eggs and decomposing plants, woke up the first residents. It wasn't until 4 AM that Swiss authorities ordered residents to seal themselves indoors.

The arrival of nearly 1,000 firefighters helped prevent the fire from spreading to other buildings. The fire was brought under control by 7 AM, with a very large amount of water being poured: 500L/second.

Between orders and counter-orders, authorities instructed children to go to school, as November 1 is not a public holiday in Switzerland. However, no information was transmitted to the neighboring border regions before 5:30 AM: Alsace for France and Bad-Wurtemberg for Germany.

The management of the Sandoz site indicated that the majority of the substances were mostly harmless.

Environmental Impact of "TchernoBâle"

The fire-fighting water, contaminated with toxic products from the site, flowed through the stormwater pipes into the Rhine, causing massive fish deaths. They contained pesticides, herbicides, and mercury. The Rhine turned red, more due to the dyes present on the site than the toxic products themselves.

The flow of toxic products wiped out all life over 250 km, eventually reaching Rotterdam and the North Sea after a 1000 km journey.

Sandoz only provided the inventory of 1,250 T of chemical products present on the site 17 days after the incident.

Decontamination Works:

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Causes of the Catastrophe:

The investigation report mentions the possible ignition of a pallet of Prussian blue. It also appears that the site's emergency systems (extinguishers, water retention basins, ...) were undersized, as a first insurer had indeed refused to insure this warehouse against fire risk a few years earlier.

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