LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

CITGO Petroleum (1250), Lake Charles

LDEQ Accident Report

Accident #	132764
State Police #	11-04563
Accident Date	2011-08-01
Report Date	2011-08-04
Follow-up Date	2011-08-08
Follow-up:	Yes

Pollutants Released

Pollutant	Duration	Point Source	Greenhouse Gas	Criteria Pollutant	Ozone forming chemical	Amount of Release
Sulfur Dioxide	4h 35m	Fired heaters and boilers	NO	YES	NO	2,354.0 pounds
Hydrogen Sulfide	4h 35m	Sulfen Vent Stack EQT297, Tail Gas II Vent Stack EQT298, B-7 Flare	NO	NO	NO
Carbon Monoxide	4h 35m	B-7 Flare EQT347	NO	YES	NO
Carbonyl Sulfide	4h 35m	Sulften Vent Stack, Tail Gas II Vent Stack	NO	NO	YES
Carbon Disulfide	4h 35m	Sulften Vent Stack, Tail Gas II Vent Stack	NO	NO	NO

Accident Classified As: Reportable Quantity

Cause of Problem: Human Factors

The operator failed to manually reset the solenoid valve that controlled the level in the F-104 drum prior to restarting the JC-102 compressor. Based on the definition of control equipment inLAC 33:III.1 1 1, Citgo failed, in this incident, to diligently maintain control equipment in proper working order whenever emissions were being made. That initial failure to reset the solenoid valve cause a string of upsets, which began with the central amine upset.

Discharge Preventable - Yes

The solenoid valve should have been manually reset prior to restarting the JC-102 compressor. Had this happened, it is possible that the F-104 drum would not have flooded, and the string of upsets would not have occurred.

Notes/Remedial Actions