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Chalmette Refining (1376), Chalmette
Causal Factor: Human Factors
| LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date |
Point Source(s) | Notes | Amount of Release |
| 83311 2005-10-21 | Receiving Tank | Cause: Contract personnel were performing a transfer or diesel fuel from storage, into a fueling truck to be used to move diesel equipment being used within the refinery. The responsible person left the transfer and when he returned, found that the receiving tank had overflowed. Followup: No Notes: The event began on 10/21/05 at approximately 1320 hours. At approximately 0510 hours on 10/21/05, refinery contract personnel identified a spill of diesel to an asphalt roadway and adjacent drainage ditch on the refinery property. The area was located within the refinery, along a service road in the East Tank Farm, running parallel to Saint Bernard Highway. Contract personnel were performing a transfer of diesel fuel from storage, into a fueling truck to be used to move diesel to equipment being used within the refinery. The responsible person left the transfer and when he returned, found that the receiving tank had overflowed. Personnel estimated that approximately 55 gallons of diesel had spilled. This incident did not cause an Emergency Condition. Liquid recovered was returned to refinery slop oil for processing. Excavated soils were containerized and staged on side pending proper disposal at an off site disposal facility. When the situation was discovered, the transfer was stopped immediately, ending the incident. The person directly responsible for the fuel transfer was disciplined by his employer. Personnel responsible for the transfer of fuels for an onsite consumption have been coach regarding importance of spill prevention and following proper procedures. Liquid released was contained on refinery property and recovered via vacuum truck. No migration off of refinery property or to groundwater has been observed. | Diesel Fuel: 55.0 gallons |
| 79721 2005-06-09 | Compressor K-2800 | Cause: Overfill of lube oil reservoir resulted in compressor K-2800 tripping offline. Off gas was routed to the no. 2 flare. Followup: No Notes: Reservoir level lowered and compressor restarted. Additional training conducted to ensure operator is always observing filling. | Sulfur Dioxide: 538.0 pounds |
| 79189 2005-05-19 | Hydrocracker Light Ends Plant - Butane Splitter Tower | Cause: Unit upset, pressure increase: Excess feed to the Depropanizer Tower caused overpressure. Hydrocracker Light Ends Plant Butane Splitter Tower overpressured, which caused propane to exit to the Butane Splitter from the excess feed in the Depropanizer Tower via the Depropanizer Bottoms. The material was vented to the refinery flare system to reduce pressure. Followup: No Notes: Moves to reduce temperature and pressure were made in effort to prevent the depressurization of the Butane Splitter to the refinery flare system. Cooler back flushing was conducted in order to ensure that maximum cooling was available, heater firing was reduced in order to reduce tower temperatures and pressures. | Nitric Oxide: 77.0 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 1,176.0 pounds |
| 77549 2005-03-13 | C-2307 (Second Stage High-Pressure Separator) level controller; K-2303 (HCU Second Stage Recycle Compressor) | Cause: During maintenance, the Hydrocracker (HCU) Second Stage High-Pressure Separator (C-2307) level controller was inadvertently left in the manual position. Later, HCU Second Stage Recycle Compressor (K-2303) shut down due to high level in C-2307. Shutdown of K-2303 caused automatic depressurization of C-2307 to the refinery flare system. Followup: No Notes: Letter rescinds report of Sulfur Dioxide because below reportable quantity. | Carbon Monoxide: 176.0 pounds Hydrocarbon: 68.0 pounds Nitric Oxide: 29.0 pounds Nitrogen Dioxide: 3.0 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 12.0 pounds |
| 76795 2005-02-07 | Unintended over pressurization of the Hydrocracker Light Ends Plant (HCU LEP) Depropanizer surge drum | Cause: Due to the isolation of the sight glass of the hydrocracker light ends plant depropanizer, the automatic level indication equipment was disabled and false reading was transmitted; this condition caused an unintended over pressurization of the HCU LEP Depropanizer surge drum, which was venter to the refinery flare system (No. 2 flare) Followup: No Notes: Refinery personnel evaluated the process operation, identified the source of the problem and made appropriate corrections, ending the incident. | Carbon Monoxide: 545.0 pounds Hydrocarbon: 345.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 1.0 pounds Nitric Oxide: 90.0 pounds Nitrogen Dioxide: 10.0 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 401.0 pounds |
| 76040 2005-01-07 | D-6305 | Cause: During a transfer of gasoline to tank 6303 (D-6303), gasoline was observed leaking from the side of tank 6305 (D-6305). Tank 6305 later was determined to have been unintentionally filled past capacity, causing overflow to leak through tank side vent. 123,836 pounds of gasoline released to the ground. Report documents amounts volatilized. However, total amounts released to environment in report attached do not add up to 123,836. States 123,836 lbs of flammable organic liquid 'including' the benzene, xylene, and VOCs. Followup: Yes Notes: Contained liquid in tank area and recovered via vacuum truck. Water and foam applied to minimize volatilization and migration into soil. Note that report attached to letter contains information about other compounds released to the environment. Air monitoring report and soil sampling report were requested and provided by letters dated 1/18/05 and 2/28/05, which are attached to the report file. Field interview form states that 582 bbls of gasoline were released, but everything else states 481 bbls. The quantities of pollutants listed in this report were the portion that Chalmette Refinery claims were volatilized; under the Reportability of Liquid Product and Chemical Spills, the Notification Instructions lists that the quantities released were 123,836 lbs of oil (gas), 2748 lbs flammable gases, 980.8 lbs benzene, 8173.2 lbs xylenes. Further in report it is declared that 2747.7 lbs of pollutants were released offsite. Accutest Lab summary of soil testing adds Toluene and TPH-GRO to pollutant list. | Benzene: 22.0 pounds Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): 2,544.0 pounds Xylene: 181.0 pounds Gasoline-see report |
| No LDEQ Reported 2007-07-05 | TN Technologies XRF | Cause: Followup: No Notes: CASE OF CONCERN: CRLLC loses an XRF unit that contains radioactive materials- .68 mCi of Fe-55 and .02 mCi of Cd-109. | see notes see notes |
| 92484 2006-12-08 | Number 1 Flare AE-AOA-05-0109 EPN 28 | Cause: valves were misaligned in the field leading to acid gas being sent to #1 Flare Followup: No Notes: refinery has reviesed the procedure for switching a SRU tran to acid gas and will train unit operators on the revised procedures. | Sulfur Dioxide: 2,988.0 pounds |
| 90530 2006-09-08 | #1 Flare - AE-AOA-05-0109 EPN 28 | Cause: during shutdown of GRU, gas had a higher BTU value than usual and the refinery furnaces automatically reduced the volume of gas consumed. The fuel drum was limited in its capacity to absorb fluctuationsin quality/auntity. The combination caused the fueldrum to vent excess pressure to the flare Followup: No Notes: CRLLC will evaluate prerequisites in GRU shutdown procedure. | Nitric Oxide: 14.0 pounds |
| 89470 2006-07-21 | SRU Thermal Oxidizer Stack | Cause: inadequate oxygen flow to SRU2 due to lack of manual adjustments by refinery personnel Followup: No Notes: LDEQ was not notified of the release within the 24 hour nonemergency notification period. Process adjustments were made to bring the unit back on ratio. | Sulfur Dioxide: 1,577.0 pounds |
| 89431 2006-06-21 | #2 Flare AE-AOA-05-0109 EPN 29 | Cause: alarm was improperly set allowing motor to operate above its design load leading to shut down of #1 Coker WGC Followup: No Notes: K-2800 high amperage alarm has been reset to 208 amps. | Nitric Oxide: 22.0 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 2,287.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2007-12-02 | Barge - Kirby 27720 | Cause: Inspector failed to bring a rope to inspect samples. A rope broke while sample bottles were being hoisted to the deck of the dock from a barge. Bottles spilled into river. Followup: No Notes: Floating boom placed on river to recover material. Absorbent pads used to clean material on deck. CRLLC will modify inspector material requirements to include all materials needed to transport samples. | Slurry Oil: 11.0 pounds |
| 100946 2007-11-09 | Truck at Coker Sludge Tank (D-8103) | Cause: Contract vacuum truck driver assumes that a valve was closed, disconnected a hose from his truck, and material sprayed to the ground Followup: No Notes: Liquid material recovered with a vacuum truck. All materials that migrated off site were recovered and containerized for disposal. | Coker Sludge: 264.0 pounds |
| 100064 2007-10-09 | Truck at Coker Sludge Tank (D-8103) | Cause: valve left open a truck allowed product to spill in a thin line for over a mile. Followup: No Notes: Sand spread over spillage. | Petroleum Distillate: 50.0 gallons |
| No LDEQ Reported 2007-08-02 | Ship | Cause: the inspector was trying to carry too many bottles, did not use secondary containment nor properly secure the lid of the bottle after the sample was taken. Followup: No Notes: Inspectors on site counseled on ways to prevent a recurrence of the situation. | Hydrocarbon: 2.0 pounds |
| 96498 2007-05-23 | EPN 28 - #1 flare | Cause: The HDS unit off-gas compression system pressure valve had relieved causing gas to go to the #2 flare after operators failed to verify a prerequisite step of the off-gas compressor start-up procedure. Followup: No Notes: attempted to reduce the discharge pressure of the HDS off-gass compressors by water washing the system. HDS charge rates were reduced. | Sulfur Dioxide: 523.0 pounds |
| 96288 2007-05-17 | Tank # 1014 | Cause: back door of vacuum truck failed releasing diesel gasoline mixture as truck attempted to unload to tank 1014 Followup: No Notes: Truck driver injured when door opened unexpectedly. Letter written to rescind notification of 5/17 concerning release of hydrocarbons and benzene | |
| 93700 2007-02-03 | Emergency Flare System | Cause: operator adjusted cooling water system, leading to a shut down of the Waste Gas System Compressor K-400 Followup: No Notes: Sweet hydrocarbon gas streams were routed to the flare to reduce the flaring of the sour hydrocarbon gas streams. The WGS was restarted and reloaded. CRLLC will reinforce training of operators on the impact of adjustments to the cooling water system. | Sulfur Dioxide: 784.0 pounds |
| 107866 2008-08-04 | Tank 305 and 307 Crude Terminal | Cause: during start up of Coker 2 planned maintenance abypass on a control valve was left open. Followup: No Notes: Preventability stated as NA, but Human Factors as a cause tells us it was preventable | Compressed Flammable Gas: 2,269.0 pounds |
| 103563 2008-03-01 | Emergency Flare System | Cause: operator over-adjusted flow to the inter-stage cooler after receiving a high temperature alarm on the Process Gas Compressor Followup: No Notes: When PGC lost suction, the board operator immediately directed the outside gas operator to decrease the cooling water flow. The intercooler temperature returned to normal operating range and the PGC was able to compress and pump the process gases again | Sulfur Dioxide: 1,026.0 pounds |
| 103125 2008-02-17 | Tank 6308 | Cause: transfer was not shut down as scheduled so tank 6308 overflowed during diesel transfer from Tank 408 Followup: No Notes: Released liquids were recovered via vacuum truck for reprocessing. Onsite impacted soil is being excavated and containerized for disposal. Additional mitigation steps will be implemented during tank-to-tank transfers at the refinery. Specific actions are currently being developed as part of the investigation. | Diesel Fuel: 1,633,391.0 pounds |
| 102968 2008-02-10 | FCC Fractionator Overhead Receiver | Cause: process gases escaped to the atmosphere through the FCC Fractionator because gas in the flare gas header was allowed to reach the overhead receiver due to inadequate isolation between the two systems Followup: No Notes: CRLLC immediately closed the valve on the Overhead Receiver and conducted a check of all the remaining valves on the unit to verify that all the valves were closed. | Hydrogen Sulfide: 236.0 pounds Volatile Organic Compounds: 9,826.0 pounds |
| 102499 2008-01-21 | Vacuum Truck | Cause: vacuum truck driver noticed a connection leaking and when he tried to fix it, the connection came completely apart spilling product from truck. Followup: No Notes: CRLLC has reviewed the circumstances and correct procedures with all vacuum truck drivers | Wash Water: 1,470.0 gallons |
| 102423 2008-01-18 | Baker Frac Tank | Cause: operator failed to turn off a waste water return pump resulting in an overflow of the Baker Tank Followup: No Notes: CRLLC revised the procedure and trained personnel that both pumps must be shut down when cleaning is not occurring. CRLLC is also requiring that 30 minute rounds be performed to check the levels in the Baker Frac Tanks. Area lighting was also improved to allow better monitoring of tank levels. Released liquids were recovered with a vacuum truck. | Wash Water: 1,500.0 gallons |
| 119671 2009-11-23 | barge | Cause: Tankerman opened hatch while the barge was pressurized causing heavy oil to spray onto the barge. Followup: No Notes: Company letter missing. Heavy oil was also sprayed on the individual. Clean up in the river was deemed unnecessary and the barge was cleaned with absorbent pads. | |
| 115487 2009-06-08 | hose from waste water tank | Cause: Contractor pulled cap off of hose leading to a wastewater tank causing sludge to be released. Followup: No Notes: RQ not exceeded. Release cleaned up for future disposal. | Sludge: 0.4 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 267.0 pounds Volatile Organic Compounds: 7.0 pounds |
| 126093 2010-08-19 | Tank 6344 Tank 6344 in the East Tank | Cause: LDEQ report states that a seven day follow report was received from the facility for a release that occurred stating that gasoline was released as a liquid to the roof of a tank and to the ground adjacent to the tank. The transfer of material into the tank was stopped and the roof drain closed. VOC emissions from the release exceeded reportable quantities. Report stated the release was not preventable by the facility investigating the root cause of the release. Operator checking equipment noticed gas smell.
FOLLOW-UP: Report from facility states, that incident was preventable and resulted operators not following written procedures causing an uncalibrated level controller.
Discharge was released to air. Followup: Yes Notes: RQ. LDEQ report states DEQ database was checked several times in November for a 60 day follow-up notification report. No report found in the systems. Chalmette Refinery environmental representative stated he was not aware of the 60 day notification requirement. The facility referred to circuit rider for not submitting a follow-up notification in accordance with LAC 33.I.3925.A.3. On 12/16/2010, the facility submitted a second follow-up notification report. The report states that the leak was preventable and was due to operators not following written procedures causing an uncalibrated level controller. The facility failed to have control facilities in place to prevent to overflow. This is an area of concern with LAC 33:III.905.Control Facilities to be Installed when Feasible." | Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): 2,987.0 pounds Gasoline: 17,303.0 pounds |
| 122546 2010-04-03 | no information given | Cause: "Unloading olefin truck--vent line to flare left open"--no details. Followup: No Notes: no information given | |
| 134917 2011-10-27 | Barge #MG-215 | Cause: On October 27, 2011, site was loading Barge #MG-215 with coke. During the loading, the center coke pile inadvertently overloaded, which resulted in approximately 100 lbs. of coke product falling over the side of the barge and into the river. Loading operations were ceased, booms were deployed and spilled coke was cleaned up on the barge area and removed coke from surface of the water. Followup: No Notes: Loading operations were ceased, booms were deployed and spilled coke was cleaned up on the barge area and removed coke from surface of the water. | Coke: 200.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2012-05-18 | walkway between dock and road | Cause: A contract inspector dropped product samples onto a grated walkway, resulting into a release into the river. Followup: No Notes: The spill was isolated due to previously deployed boom. The walkway area was cleaned and the United States Environmental Services (USES) was activated to respond for clean up. | #6 Oil: 0.8 pounds |
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