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Marathon Ashland Petroleum (3165), Garyville
LDEQ Accident Report
| Accident # | 143319 |
| State Police # | 12-06413 |
| Accident Date | 2012-09-23 |
| Report Date | 2012-09-27 |
| 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 |
| Nitric Oxide | 8m | Emissions from Flare | NO | YES | NO | 0.2 pounds |
| Carbon Monoxide | 8m | Emissions from flare | NO | YES | NO | 0.8 pounds |
| Sulfur Dioxide | 8m | emissions from flare and Unit 45 Thermal Oxidizer | NO | YES | NO | 90.7 pounds |
| Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | YES | 1.4 pounds |
| Hydrogen Sulfide | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | NO | 0.1 pounds |
| Methane | 8m | emissions from flare | YES | NO | YES | 0.2 pounds |
| Ethane | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | YES | 0.2 pounds |
| n-Butane | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | NO | 0.2 pounds |
| n-Pentane | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | NO | 0.2 pounds |
| 1-Pentene | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | YES | 0.2 pounds |
| Pentene Plus | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | NO | 0.2 pounds |
| Natural Gas | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | NO | 28,000.0 pounds |
| n-Hexane | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | NO | BRQ |
| Hydrogen | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | NO | BRQ |
| Particulate Matter 10 | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | YES | NO | BRQ |
| Particulate Matter 2.5 | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | YES | NO | BRQ |
| Propane | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | YES | 0.5 pounds |
| Isobutane | 8m | emissions from flare | NO | NO | YES | 0.1 pounds |
Accident Classified As: Reportable Quantity
Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure
Marathon experienced a partial power outage caused by a malfunctioning substation in the refinery resulted in multiple pieces of equipment in the refinery losing power. Low pressure stripper Offgas flared in the South Flare due to partial power outage. Enterprise incident due to a plant farther downstream that had uncharacteristically ceased operation due to an upset condition. The pressure safety valve, as designed, released discharging natural gas to atmosphere due to high pressure on the pipeline caused by the upset condition farther down the line. Emission points involved were the Unit 59 North Flare and the Unit 45 Thermal Oxidizer.
Discharge Preventable - No
Marathon release was not preventable. The loss of power and the malfunction of substation was not anticipated. This substation is part of the refinery's preventative maintenance program. Enterprise incident was not preventable. They cannot predict upset conditions. The PSV functioned as designed.
Notes/Remedial Actions
Marathon power was restored and the equipment that was shutdown was restarted to minimize further releases. An incident investigation will result in recommendation items designed to prevent the recurrence of this event. High sulfur dioxide from one of the thermal oxidizer stacks in Unit 45 and in addition to a small amount of Unit 15 low pressure stripper offgas was flared which contains a small amount of hydrogen sulfide which is converted to sulfur dioxide in the North Flare. Emission points involved were the Unit 59 North Flare and the Unit 45 Thermal Oxidizer. Enterprise personnel immediately began the process of taking the plant down in order to end the release event. Amount of natural gas released is above reportable quantity.
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