LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

Motiva Enterprises (2719), Convent

LDEQ Accident Report

Accident #	100801
State Police #	07-06758
Accident Date	2007-11-06
Report Date	2007-11-08
Follow-up Date	2007-11-13
Follow-up:	Yes

Pollutants Released

Pollutant	Duration	Point Source	Greenhouse Gas	Criteria Pollutant	Ozone forming chemical	Amount of Release
Nitrogen Oxide	2 h 0 m	Steam Boiler EPN 31F-810	NO	YES	YES	437.0 pounds
Sulfur Dioxide	2 h 0 m	Tail Gas Treatment Unit No. 4 Incinerator Stack EPN 78H-101	NO	YES	NO	3,694.0 pounds
Sulfur Trioxide	2 h 0 m	VPS-2 Atmospheric Tower Feed Heater EPN 83H-101	NO	NO	NO	148.0 pounds
Carbon Monoxide	2 h 0 m	VPS-2 Atmospheric Tower Feed Heater EPN 83H-101	NO	YES	NO	91.0 pounds
Particulate Matter	2 h 0 m	VPS-2 Atmospheric Tower Feed Heater EPN 83H-101	NO	YES	NO	60.0 pounds
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)	2 h 0 m	VPS-2 Atmospheric Tower Feed Heater EPN 83H-101	NO	NO	YES	13.0 pounds
Nitrous Oxide	2 h 0 m	VPS-2 Atmospheric Tower Feed Heater EPN 83H-101	YES	YES	YES	5.0 pounds
Formaldehyde	2 h 0 m	VPS-2 Atmospheric Tower Feed Heater EPN 83H-101	NO	NO	YES	1.0 pounds
Sour Diesel	2 h 0 m	VPS-2 Atmospheric Tower Feed Heater EPN 83H-101	NO	NO	NO	129,000.0 pounds

Accident Classified As: Reportable Quantity

Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket

The seal on a diesel circulation pump on VPS-2 (a crude distillation unit) failed as a reslut of a suspected bearing problem. This seal failure caused the release of approximately 434 bbls of untreated (sour) diesel, which ignited, resulting in a fire.

Discharge Preventable - No

An unanticipated pump seal failure caused this incident. Motiva regularly monitors, inspects, and conducts preventive maintenance on pumps. Despite the significant efforts, pump seal failures can still occasionally occur.

Notes/Remedial Actions