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Valero (1238), Meraux

LDEQ Accident Report

Accident #109460
State Police #08-06163
Accident Date2008-09-22
Report Date 2008-12-30
Follow-up Date 0000-00-00
Follow-up: Yes

Pollutants Released

Pollutant Duration Point Source Greenhouse Gas Criteria Pollutant Ozone forming chemical Amount of Release
Sulfur Dioxide2h 37mFLARE - Boiler Feed Water Pump B-P-022ANOYESNO8,842.0 pounds
Particulate MatterNo Information GivenFLARE - Boiler Feed Water Pump B-P-022ANOYESNOBRQ

Accident Classified As:

Cause of Problem: Other

the event was apparently triggered by the loss of boiler feed water pump B-P-022A due to high bearing temperatures after loss of cooling water to the bearing housing. The lack of water was due to plugging (Zebra mussels) of the cooling water line. MOUSAhad the pump on a temporary cooling line (once-through cooling water from the Mississippi River) because the Area 6 Cooling Tower was shut down on 9/21 due to a planned maintenance turnaround of the Hydrocracker Unit.

Discharge Preventable - No

Notes/Remedial Actions

This incident was not preventable because MOUSA could not anticipate that the temporary cooling line would plug. Remedial Measures - for future events when the Area 6 cooling tower is shut down, MOUSA will run B-P-022B on conditioned city water. Subsequent to this event, MOUSA installed connections to enable the use of a temporary cooling tower to supply high quality cooling water if the conditioned city water is unavailable.