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Louisiana Refinery Accident Database

Valero (1238), Meraux

LDEQ Accident Report

Pollutants Released

Accident Classified As: No Information Given

Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure

Refinery representatives told inspector that the refinery was recovering from an unexpected shutdown of the benzene reduction unit (BRU). The reformer unit, which had earlier shut down, was in the process of restarting. During this restart, a gaseous stream (primarily hydrogen) was directed from the reformer separator vessel to the north flare. Exceedances of the north flare's NOx permit level occurred. Those amounts are slated to be included in the next published Title V deviation report. No reportable quantities were exceeded. There were no CEMS exceedances. The north flare had a visible flame that was not exceptional in size or velocity. No citizen complaints were logged by the facility. The DEQ inspector was notified of the event because of a citizen complaint related to a loud boom heard inside the home.

Discharge Preventable - No Information Given

Notes/Remedial Actions

No numerical data provided about amount of release. No followup included. Another citizen complaint occurred at 2100 on the same day. Believed to be associated with the same incident. That report was not entered into the database, but the LDEQ reference number is 155425.