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Placid Refining (2366), Port Allen

LDEQ Accident Report

Accident #No LDEQ Number Available
State Police #No information given
Accident Date2012-01-26
Report Date 2012-03-28
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 Dioxide68h 55mReactor beds in the Sulfur PlantNOYESNO5,047.0 pounds

Accident Classified As: Reportable Quantity

Cause of Problem: Maintenance/Procedures

The Sulfur plant was shutdown during the turnaround to replace the catalyst as it was no longer active. Residual sulfur was removed from the reactor beds to prevent the beds from plugging or solidifying. The statement includes a line that says the catalyst was not being replaced anyways. There is a contradiction.

Discharge Preventable - No

The activity was part of a planned turnaround for scheduled maintenance. Not reasonably preventable through good engineering practice and the SOP is rooted in the unit vendors SOP. Followed recommended procedures.

Notes/Remedial Actions

This was a planned shutdown and a variance was issued by LDEQ Office of Environmental Service. There is no LDEQ report and no SPOC report attached to this file. Residual sulfur must be removed from the reactor beds to prevent the beds from plugging or solidifying. If the reactor beds were not swept of the residual sulfur it makes it more hazardous to remove the old catalyst. Note, that even if the catalyst was not being replaced it is likely that the catalyst would have plugged if the sweeping procedure was not preformed and we would not be able to get proper flow through the Sulfur Plant during start up. Placid's procedure for sweeping the reactor beds is the standard procedure for preparing an SRU for shutdown.