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Accident # | 153803 |
State Police # | 14-00676 |
Accident Date | 2014-02-06 |
Report Date | 2014-04-03 |
Follow-up Date | 0000-00-00 |
Follow-up: | Yes |
Pollutant | Duration | Point Source | Greenhouse Gas | Criteria Pollutant | Ozone forming chemical | Amount of Release |
1,3-Butadiene | 17h 35m | BD5 Unit | NO | NO | YES | 58.0 pounds |
Carbon Monoxide | 17h 35m | BD5 Unit | NO | YES | NO | 197.0 pounds |
NOx | 17h 35m | BD5 Unit | NO | NO | YES | 36.0 pounds |
Particulate Matter | 17h 35m | BD5 Unit | NO | YES | NO | 7.0 pounds |
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) | 17h 35m | BD5 Unit | NO | NO | YES | 126.0 pounds |
Accident Classified As: Reportable Quantity
On 2/6/14, a vent heater from Shell Chemical's Butadiene 5 (BD5) Unit to the OL5 process gas compressor (PGC) unexpectedly froze during inclement weather, resulting in flaring at the OL5 ground flare. Once the header thawed, the unit was safely returned to normal operating conditions on 2/7/14, and the flaring stopped.
Frozen vent header was unexpected.
To minimize additional unit upset conditions and impacts, the vent stream from BD5 was routed to the flare until the header thawed. Once thawed, the vent stream was returned to its normal routing and BD5 was safely returned to normal operating conditions. To prevent the reoccurrence of this incident, the use of heat tracing and the development of a procedure to mitigate the frozen header are being evaluated. Both the reportable quantity and permit limit for 1,3 butadiene were exceeded.
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