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Valero (1238), Meraux

LDEQ Accident Report

Accident #88939
State Police #06-04081
Accident Date2006-06-28
Report Date 2005-07-05
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 Dioxide4 h 30 mSouth Flare EPN #3-77NOYESNO29,813.0 pounds

Accident Classified As:

Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure

#3 SRU (Sulfur Recovery Unit) Bypass- Unintentional trip of the unit from a satellite monitoring location that was thought to have no active control. When SRU returned to service Sulfur Dioxide leaked from #3 TGT (Tail Gas Treater) until sufficient acid gas could sustain #3 TGT.

Discharge Preventable - Yes

Was an inadvertant human error

Notes/Remedial Actions

Plant followed operating procedures to mitigate the damage routing acid gas to the S. flare. Also, implimented sulfur shedding plan to reduce Sulfur Dioxide emissions. Brought the SRU online as soon as possible. Afterward, reconfigured DCS (Distributive Control System) to ensure that satellite monitoring screens had no active control capability.