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ExxonMobil Chemical Plant (286), Baton Rouge
LDEQ Accident Report
| Accident # | 145693 |
| State Police # | 13-00036 |
| Accident Date | 2013-01-01 |
| Report Date | 2013-01-10 |
| 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 |
| Propylene | 2 d 4 h | cooling tower water chiller UE-07 | NO | NO | YES | 64,179.0 pounds |
| Unknown Substance | 2 d 4 h | cooling tower water chiller UE-07 | NO | NO | NO | 1,000.0 pounds |
Accident Classified As: Reportable Quantity
Cause of Problem: Under Investigation
On January 3rd a propylene leak was discovered coming from cooling tower water chiller UE-07 to GFLA-3 cooling tower. On January 1st at approximately 3 PM, the Refinery Gas Recovery Unit noticed that the propylene refrigeration inventory was decreasing at an increased rate. Operations immediately began troubleshooting by utilizing the HAWK camera, testing unit safety valves, checking cooling tower gas detectors, and verifying all unit line-ups until the source of the leak was discovered. On January 3rd at 11:06 AM cooling tower water chiller UE-07 was isolated as part of this troubleshooting activity. The propylene inventory levels returned to the normal operating range by 1:00 PM, confirming the leak had been isolated. Inspection of the chiller, UE-07, is being expedited to determine the root cause of the leak. Based on the mechanical inspection results, repairs will be completed and ling-term mitigation plans developed.
Discharge Preventable - No
The release was determined to be non preventable by Exxon Chemical due to the fact that there was no expectation that this equipment would have leaked in such a short period of time.
Notes/Remedial Actions
Unknown product is a flammable vapor. An exchanger leaked to the cooling tower, which was blocked in and secured prior to discovering the leak. The site has been secured. Highly reactive volatile organic compounds were released. Material went offsite and air was monitored at the perimeter of the facility. The incident was classified as an unusual event. This facility exceeded the RQ of propylene by more than 64x the reportable quantity. Based on the mechanical inspection results, repairs will be completed and long-term mitigation plans developed. While SPOC was notified of the discharge on January 7th, the Unauthorized Discharge Notification Report, also known as the 7-day letter, was not submitted till January 10th, 2013. While the source of the problem was identified on January 3rd, the problem was recognized on January 1st, which means that the 7-day letter should have been submitted on January 8th, or seven days after the problem was initially recognized.
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