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ExxonMobil Refinery (2638), Baton Rouge

LDEQ Accident Report

Accident #86722
State Police #06-01819
Accident Date2006-03-24
Report Date 2006-03-31
Follow-up Date 0000-00-00
Follow-up: No

Pollutants Released

Pollutant Duration Point Source Greenhouse Gas Criteria Pollutant Ozone forming chemical Amount of Release
Sulfur Dioxide22h 11mFLARE - as a result of a leak from the ammonia gas line to the No. 100 Sulfur Plant (SRLA-100)NOYESNO83,580.0 pounds
Nitrogen Oxide22h 11mFLARE - as a result of a leak from the ammonia gas line to the No. 100 Sulfur Plant (SRLA-100)NOYESYES270.0 pounds
Ammonia22h 11mFLARE - as a result of a leak from the ammonia gas line to the No. 100 Sulfur Plant (SRLA-100)NONONO250.0 pounds
Nitrogen Dioxide22h 11mFLARE - as a result of a leak from the ammonia gas line to the No. 100 Sulfur Plant (SRLA-100)NOYESYES18,830.0 pounds
Nitric Oxide22h 11mFLARE - as a result of a leak from the ammonia gas line to the No. 100 Sulfur Plant (SRLA-100)NOYESNO266.0 pounds
Hydrocarbon22h 11mFLARE - as a result of a leak from the ammonia gas line to the No. 100 Sulfur Plant (SRLA-100)NONOYES2,551.0 pounds
Water22h 11mFLARE - as a result of a leak from the ammonia gas line to the No. 100 Sulfur Plant (SRLA-100)NONONO80.0 pounds
Hydrogen Sulfide22h 11mFLARE - as a result of a leak from the ammonia gas line to the No. 100 Sulfur Plant (SRLA-100)NONONO1,090.0 pounds

Accident Classified As:

Cause of Problem: Corrosion

the pipe leaked due to new corrosion hole that had developed under the edge of a clamp that was installed in November. The existing clamp was tightened which did not stop the leak so it was replaced with a new clamp which also did not stop the leak. Since the newly installed clamp did not stop the leak, the old clamp was then reinstalled with a new gasket which still did not stop the leak. The feed spheres to the Sour Water Strippers became full which required the start up of the Sour Water Strippers to the flare syste

Discharge Preventable - No

Notes/Remedial Actions

The incident was not preventable because, The clamp was installed in Nov. 2005 due to a pinhole leak from condensate corrosion. At that time, the line was x-rayed and no areas of concern were discovered outside the area under the clamp. Therefore, the corrosion hole that led to the release could not have been predicted. Remedial actions- a similar line exists to the SRLA-200 unit. This line will be inspected and repaired while the SRLA 200 unit is down. The letter to LDEQ ss that the reportable quantities for ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and nitrogen dioxide were exceeded. Note: there is a time discrepancy - the report states that the incident started at 2:30pm on 03/24/2006 but was discov