LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

Valero (1238), Meraux

LDEQ Accident Report

Accident #	145543
PDF Available	PDF
tate Police #	N/A
Accident Date	2012-12-22
Report Date	2013-02-25
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
Flammable Vapor	15m	Marine Vapor Recovery Flare	NO	NO	YES	BRQ

Accident Classified As: Below Reportable Quantity (BRQ)

Cause of Problem: No Information Given

Citizen complained of seeing a very large flare at the Valero dock terminal around 10 pm. Citizen also complained of a very high-pitched, constant tone emanating from Valero that was audible in house from 4:30 pm to 10:30 pm, hurting her ears and disturbing the household.

Discharge Preventable - No Information Given

Notes/Remedial Actions

The representative from Valero Refining stated that a brief 15 minute flaring episode occurred at the North Flare on December 22, 2012 at approximately 3:30 PM. No reportable quantities or permit limits were exceeded. Correspondence from LADEQ and Valero Refining also indicates that the flare occurred from the marine vapor recovery (MVR) flare, which is described as a short flare, producing a proportionally larger flame than the two main refinery flares. While the Valery Refinery indicated no upsets on the date of the incident, a flaring episode was documented but without any further information.