The AZF Plant in Toulouse

In 2001, the AZF plant in Toulouse belonged to Grande Paroisse, France’s leading fertilizer producer and a subsidiary of the TotalFinaElf Group. While the site was officially called “Grande Paroisse de Toulouse”, it was mainly known locally as the “AZF plant”, referring to the brand name used by Grande Paroisse displayed on the factory chimney.

The plant, located 5 kilometres from the city centre, covered an area of 78 hectares between the Tarbes motorway and the Garonne River.

The plant was built in 1924 and most of its plant buildings dated from 1960.

At the time of the disaster on 21 September 2001, the AZF plant in Toulouse had 470 employees. About 80 people, who also worked regularly on the site, were employed by nine outside contractors.

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