LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

Shell Chemical East (26336), Norco

LDEQ Accident Report

Accident #	152916
PDF Available	PDF
State Police #	13-05644
Accident Date	2013-12-18
Report Date	2013-12-19
Follow-up Date	2014-02-14
Follow-up:	Yes

Pollutants Released

Pollutant	Duration	Point Source	Greenhouse Gas	Criteria Pollutant	Ozone forming chemical	Amount of Release
Carbon Monoxide	2d 12h 38m	OL-5 Ground (EPN 7-84) and Elevated (EPN 6-84)	NO	YES	NO	50,885.5 pounds
Nitrogen Oxide	2d 12h 38m	OL-5 Ground (EPN 7-84) and Elevated (EPN 6-84)	NO	YES	YES	9,351.9 pounds
Particulate Matter	2d 12h 38m	OL-5 Ground (EPN 7-84) and Elevated (EPN 6-84)	NO	YES	NO	1,760.4 pounds
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)	2d 12h 38m	OL-5 Ground (EPN 7-84) and Elevated (EPN 6-84)	NO	NO	YES	25,921.6 pounds
1,3-Butadiene	2d 12h 38m	OL-5 Ground (EPN 7-84) and Elevated (EPN 6-84)	NO	NO	YES	913.3 pounds
Benzene	2d 12h 38m	OL-5 Ground (EPN 7-84) and Elevated (EPN 6-84)	NO	NO	YES	8.9 pounds

Accident Classified As: Reportable Quantity

Cause of Problem: Maintenance/Procedures

On December 18, 2013, Shell Chemical's OL-5 Unit shut down to complete scheduled maintenance. While walking out the unit, a pressure equipment inspector found a section of piping that was experiencing corrosion under insulation. After further investigation, a plan was devised to shut down the unit in order to repair this thinned section of piping and prevent additional unit upset conditions. Flaring to OL-5 Ground Flare (EPN 7-84) and OL-5 Elevated Flare (EPN 6-84) resulted from a unit shutdown to complete planned maintenance on a section of piping downstream of the ethylene refrigerant compressor experiencing corrosion.

Discharge Preventable - No

It was uncertain this section of thin piping would be found during inspection.

Notes/Remedial Actions

To minimize additional unit upset conditions and impacts, the OL5 unit was shutdown and the thin wall piping was repaired. A review of the corrosion under insulation will be performed to identify improvements which can be made to prevent future re-occurrences.