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Valero (1238), Meraux
LDEQ Accident Report
| Accident # | 135917 |
| State Police # | 11-07784 |
| Accident Date | 2011-12-14 |
| Report Date | 2011-12-21 |
| 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 Dioxide | 15 h 33 m | #3 SRU Incinerator stack | NO | YES | NO | 3,100.0 pounds |
| Hydrogen Sulfide | 15 h 33 m | #3 SRU Incinerator stack | NO | NO | NO | 35.0 pounds |
Accident Classified As: Reportable Quantity
Cause of Problem: Under Investigation
On December 14th Valero experienced excess emissions of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide at the #3 SRU Incinerator (EPN #5-00) due to automatic safety shutdown of the #3 SRU. Varying rates of emissions were released at the #3 SRU Incinerator stack while the #3 Tail Gas Treater (TGT) was bypassed as Valero worked to restart the unit.
Discharge Preventable - Under Investigation
The incident is undergoing a Root Cause Analysis. No mention of how to prevent recurrence.
Notes/Remedial Actions
Valero immediately enacted its Sulfur Shredding Plan to reduce the amount of acid gas routed to the unit, thereby reducing the emissions to the incinerator. The wind was from the NE at 5-10 mph during the incident. No allegations of impact were received from neighbors in the surrounding community. The episode occurred from approximately 12:45 pm until 6:40 pm on 12/14/11 and from 9:00 pm until 6:20 am on 12/15/11. Valero followed its operating procedures as described in MACT UUU Startup, Shutdown and Malfunction Plan in securing and restarting the unit.
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