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Accident # | 93999 |
State Police # | 07-00759 |
Accident Date | 2007-02-16 |
Report Date | 2007-02-23 |
Follow-up Date | 0000-00-00 |
Follow-up: |
Pollutant | Duration | Point Source | Greenhouse Gas | Criteria Pollutant | Ozone forming chemical | Amount of Release |
Propylene | 3h 47m | Rich Stage Absorber Tower | NO | NO | YES | 468.0 pounds |
Isopropyl alcohol | 3h 47m | Rich Stage Absorber Tower | NO | NO | NO | 892.0 pounds |
Sulfuric Acid | 3h 47m | Rich Stage Absorber Tower | NO | NO | NO | 1,436.0 pounds |
Water | 3h 47m | Rich Stage Absorber Tower | NO | NO | NO | 495.0 pounds |
Propane | 3h 47m | Rich Stage Absorber Tower | NO | NO | YES | 468.0 pounds |
Accident Classified As: Reportable Quantity
While making routine rounds, an assistant operator on the Isopropyl Alcohol Unit discovered a leak on the sixth level of the Rich Stage Absorber Tower. The leak was caused by a failure of the thermowell assembly.
The thermowell assembly that failed was new, having just been installed on the tower in October of 2006, along with six other thermowell assemblies. The thermowell assembly consists of a thermowell and protective sheath. Test reports were reviewed and confirmed to be of the correct metallurgy. After the tower was shut down, other thermowell assemblies in the same service were inspected and showed no signs of corrosion or wear.
Personnel immediately began to isolate and shut down the tower. Elevated fire monitors were activated which sprayed water on the release to minimize emissions to the air. Feed was blocked out of the tower, the liquid drained to other process equipment, and the tower was depressured to the gas recovery system. The failed thermowell assembly was replaced. The failed thermowell assemblly was sent to an outside lab for metallurgical analysis to determine the cause of the failure.
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