LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

Formosa Plastics (288), Baton Rouge

LDEQ Accident Report

Accident #	94771
PDF Available	PDF
State Police #	07-0851
Accident Date	2007-03-19
Report Date	2007-03-26
Follow-up Date	2007-04-24
Follow-up:	Yes

Pollutants Released

Pollutant	Duration	Point Source	Greenhouse Gas	Criteria Pollutant	Ozone forming chemical	Amount of Release
Sodium Hydroxide	193.83 h	6-inch isolation valve on	NO	NO	NO	537.0 pounds

Accident Classified As: Below Reportable Quantity (BRQ)

Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket

Formosa was repairing a buried fire water line in the area of the facility that was formerly known as the VCM 1 Unit. As part of the fire water line repair activity, maintenance personnel dug a shallow trench to access a buried pipe. Following digging, liquid was observed in the shallow trench. Near-by storm water sewer line was leaking into the repair trench. Source of the caustic contamination was determined to be from a leaking valve on an upstream caustic header system which drained to this storm sewer.

Discharge Preventable - No Information Given

Notes/Remedial Actions

Formosa is collected and pumped the potentially impacted liquids from the trench for an on-site recovery. Contamination in the trench was recovered and neutralized. The area was blocked in an the job was shut down. Additional excavation was necessary to determine that the source of this leak was a near-by storm water sewer line which was leaking into the repair trench. The source was isolated and the contamination was recovered as much as possible from the sewer system and trench.