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Placid Refining (2366), Port Allen

LDEQ Accident Report

Accident #137263
PDF AvailablePDF
State Police #12-00928
Accident Date2012-02-16
Report Date 2012-02-23
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 Dioxide17h 25mSRU incinerator #1NOYESNO407.0 pounds
Nitrogen17h 25mSRU incinerator #1NONONOBRQ
Hydrogen17h 25mSRU incinerator #1NONONOBRQ
Carbon Monoxide17h 25mSRU incinerator #1NOYESNOBRQ
Carbon Dioxide17h 25mSRU incinerator #1YESNONOBRQ
Vapor17h 25mSRU incinerator #1NONONOBRQ
Hydrogen Sulfide17h 25mSRU incinerator #1NONONOBRQ
Carbon Disulfide17h 25mSRU incinerator #1NONONOBRQ
Carbonyl Sulfide17h 25mSRU incinerator #1NONOYESBRQ

Accident Classified As: Below Reportable Quantity (BRQ)

Cause of Problem: Maintenance/Procedures

A plugged quench tower in TGTU #1 that operated in conjunction with SRU #2 had to be taken out of service for cleaning resulting in a TGTU bypass which caused an increase in SO2 emissions from the SRU incinerator #1 on SRU#3.

Discharge Preventable - Yes

Placid had to perform the maintenance cleaning activity so the TGTU would perform as designed. The plugging in the tower resulted from a malfunction earlier in the week that was deemed preventable.

Notes/Remedial Actions

The maintenance cleaning activity on the plugged Quench Tower was performed quickly as possible and reduced acid gas production by reducing processing unit charge rates and shifting the maximum acid gas load possible to the SRU #3. Operator training is being conducted to prevent the initial incident earlier in the week. Offsite air monitoring occurred throughout the duration of the incident.Additional operator training and any findings or corrective actions that stem from the formal Root Cause Analysis