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ExxonMobil Refinery (2638), Baton Rouge
Causal Factor: Instrument Failure
| LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date |
Point Source(s) | Notes | Amount of Release |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-12-09 | FLARE | Cause: repairs were being done on an exchanger which caused the events to occur Followup: No Notes: the MEA from the scrubber was temporarily diverted to the slop system where it would not cause additional upsets. The tail gas from the tail gas clean up unit was diverted to the incinerators to reduce hydrogen sulfide emissions; the procedures for removing the absorber tower from service will be updated to reflect the potential to have hydrocarbon condense in the MEA system; . Air monitoring completed outside facility. | Nitrogen Oxide: 36.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 301.0 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 27,695.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-09-14 | FLARE- Alkylation Unit | Cause: a pump on the cooling tower shut down due to a structural failure on the filter of the pump. Caused alkylation unit to flare. Followup: No Notes: the machinest on the alkylation unit made immediate repairs to the pump and operations personnel were able to restart it; this was not preventable because the failure on the filter could not have been predicted | Nitrogen Oxide: 22.0 pounds Nitrogen Dioxide: 4.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-08-04 | FLARE- No. 19 | Cause: controls for the REA regenerators were switched to the control backup panel, so part of a controller could be repaired. The REA regenerators had difficulty operating and carried over liquid to the SRLA knockout drums triggering an overabundance of chemical releas Followup: No Notes: the refinery reduced rates to reduce the production of CAG.Ammonia acid gas production was stopped to allow the maximum amount of CAG to be processed. | Sulfur Dioxide: 64,400.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 698.0 pounds Nitrogen Oxide: 87.0 pounds Nitrogen Dioxide: 15.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-06-21 | FLARE | Cause: flaring occurred when the rate of the baton rouge fractionator was increased about 24 KB/D. Safety valve was faulty. Followup: No Notes: the safety valve was blocked away from the flare drum and Sorrento was notified. | Nitrogen Oxide: 36.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-06-15 | FLARE | Cause: caused by the safety valve malfunction Followup: No Notes: this report involved 3 events over the course of 3 days; the source of the additional gas to RGCU was determined and the vapor pulldown line was opened to reduce pressure in the sphere. This allowed to safety valve to reseat; 63 pounds of nitrogen oxide was released during the incident on the 15th and 16th, and an additional 18 pounds were released on the 17th- making the total pounds released of nitrogen oxide | Sulfur Dioxide: 1,365.0 pounds Nitrogen Oxide: 81.0 pounds Nitrogen Dioxide: 11.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-06-13 | tank 766 | Cause: level gauge on tank 766 was not responding correctly. Chemicals began flowing out of the drain on the tank. Followup: Yes Notes: foam was sprayed on the tank to reduce exposure and fire potential. The tank was slowly emptied to ensure the roof did not shift and damage the tank. | 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane: 24,618.0 pounds Xylene: 3,313.0 pounds Toluene: 2,422.0 pounds Ethylbenzene: 663.0 pounds Benzene: 582.0 pounds Hexane: 553.0 pounds Flammable Vapor: 362.0 pounds Naphthalene: 258.0 pounds Butene: 75.0 pounds Cumene: 49.0 pounds Cyclohexane: 36.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-05-03 | PCLA-3 | Cause: a leak on the fractionator tower at PCLA-3, unit had to be shut down for repair, the unit temperature caused the carbon monoxide to exceed the maximum concentration allowe Followup: No Notes: the temperature in the regenerator was increased to push higher temperature gas to the furnace, which reduced the formation of carbon monoxide; the report stated that this was not preventable because the new regulation requires more experience to meet the limits and it was not known there was a problem with the furnace burne | Carbon Monoxide: 3,995.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-03-31 | FLARE: GLA-3x compressor | Cause: flaring occurred due to an instrument problem on the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit Followup: No Notes: an alternate compressor was started up and the feedrate to the unit was reduced | Sulfur Dioxide: 2,922.0 pounds Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compounds (HRVOCs): 163.0 pounds Nitrogen Oxide: 82.0 pounds Nitrogen Dioxide: 14.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-03-24 | E3A- & E3B | Cause: safety valves lifted Followup: No Notes: There were 2 incidents involved- the 1st did no exceed any reportable quantities, the 2nd incident started on 3/24/05 at 11:21pm and ended at 11:30pm the same day; furnace reboiler was shut down to reduce tower pressure and allow safety valves to reseat; the actual release lasted 9 minutes (from 11:21pm to 11:30pm); the report stated that the safety valve release on 4 LEU was preventable, but the reboiler leak on E-3A was not expected as it was a newer bundle than E-3 | Butene: 693.0 pounds Flammable Vapor: 70,890.0 pounds Volatile Organic Compounds: 44,957.0 pounds Xylene: 10,170.0 pounds Toluene: 10,000.0 pounds Ethylbenzene: 2,810.0 pounds Benzene: 2,260.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-03-15 | No2 and No. 3 light end | Cause: control valve malfunction due to changed stream dispositions Followup: No Notes: line will be cleaned to eliminate the plug and the water supply source will be changed to reduce potential for plugging on the water wash lines | Hydrogen Sulfide: 526.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-02-27 | FLARE | Cause: the controller responsible for the operation of the Refinery Gas Compression Unit (RGCU) began experiencing problems Followup: No Notes: C-50 was started up to eliminate the flaring and was run on manual. Incident not preventable because normal preventative precautions not used due to concern over clanging noises. | Sulfur Dioxide: 503.0 pounds Nitrogen Oxide: 24.0 pounds Hydrogen: 2.0 pounds Nitrogen: 2.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 1.0 pounds Methane: 15.0 pounds Ethane: 10.0 pounds Cyclopropane: 3.0 pounds Propane: 41.0 pounds Butene: 5.0 pounds Butane: 20.0 pounds pyrrolidine, protonated: 19.0 pounds Pentene: 1.0 pounds Pentane: 7.0 pounds Pentane: 5.0 pounds n-Hexane: 3.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-02-19 | FLARE | Cause: Control valves created excessive back pressure on the compressors at PCLA, which resulted in the compressor pressure control valve opening to the flare syste Followup: No Notes: Corrected controls for the pressure control valves for the first part of the flaring event and closed a block valve for the second part of the flaring event; report stated that the release was preventable, but eplained that the flaring from 10:17am to 1:49pm was not preventable because a level instrument was reading incorrectly, which allowed the gas to the flare system. | Sulfur Dioxide: 734.0 pounds Nitrogen Oxide: 32.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-01-31 | Tail Gas Clean Up Unit | Cause: 100 Unit went off ratio because air control valve failed closed. Followup: No Notes: The steam leaving the TGCU exceeded the regulatory maximum 12 hour average of 10 ppm of hydrogen sulfide from 3pm to 11pm. Control Valve positioner was repaired. Air bypass valves are being installed on the 100 Unit turnaround. Release unpreventable because this is the first time it has happened and can only be installed while unit is down. | |
| No LDEQ Reported 2005-01-14 | F-1 furnace at the East Coker | Cause: the temperature indicator on P-2B was not reading. Restart of feed pump caused the temperature to missread the feed temperature and automatically reduced the firing in furnace F-1. Coil outlet temperature then fell and the furnace firing automatically increased. Followup: No Notes: The forward control program has been changed, limiting the potential for error in temperature readings and in turn limits the change feedforward controls can make on furnace firing | Carbon Monoxide: 155.0 pounds |
| 90922 2006-09-27 | None Reported | Cause: the smoke is presumed to have been caused by hot insulation in the furnace ducting -pressure sensor failure Followup: No Notes: This incident was preventable but there is no information whatsoever as to why the accident was preventable. The F-202 Furnace was operating normally when a pressure sensor on the inlet air system failedÉWhen the pressure sensor failed, the system falsely detected low air flow to the furnace and the furnace drop-out doors functioned as designed. When the drop-out doors functioned, the hot flue gas that was being sent to the air preheater should have been automatically diverted from thr preheater directly to the stack thus protecting the air preheater from overheating. Due to incorrect wiring in the emergency shutdown system, the hot flue gas continued to flow through the air preheater and associated ducting. Without a medium to r | |
| 90849 2006-09-23 | None Reported | Cause: The smoking furnace is thought to have been caused by an inaccurate reading from the oxygen sensor Followup: No Notes: This incident was not preventable because the faulty oxygen sensor had been properly maintained and there were no indications that this sensor would fail. Remedial Measures - An investigation is ongoing and the appropriate follow-up actions will be completed. | |
| 90267 2006-08-26 | FLARE - #17 and #19 Flares | Cause: the level indicator on the #4 Light Ends T-103 amine scrubber tower failed to function properly. Excess gas was flared in the #17 and #19 flares. Followup: No Notes: This incident was not preventable because failure of the level instrumentation was unexpected. Remedial Measures - an investigation is ongoing and the appropriate follow-up action will be completed. As a result of the faulty level indication, hydrocarbons were carried under to the amine regeneration unit and subsequently the refinery gas collection unit. The gas collection unit was unable to handle the increased load and therefore the excess gas was flared in the #17 and #19 flares.&##34;Reportable quantities for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide, butenes, and propylene were exceeded | Butene: 307.0 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 2,964.0 pounds Nitrogen Dioxide: 26.0 pounds Propylene: 220.0 pounds Nitrogen Oxide: 154.0 pounds |
| 89821 2006-08-08 | FLARE - C-30 compressor at the Refinery Gas Compression Unit - Flare #5, 23, 17, 19. | Cause: C-30 compressor at the Refinery Gas Compression Unit automatically shutdown due to a high vibration alarm. The high vibration alarm was due to work activities from nearby maintenance personnel. As a result of the shutdown, the refinery flared for 20 minutes from #5, 23, 17 and 19 flares. During the 20 minute flaring the #17 flare experienced a 5 minute duration during which the instrumentation indicates that a flame was not present. Hydrocarbons were being emitted to the air via the unlit flare. Followup: No Notes: There is no information as to why this incident was preventable. Remedial Measures - an investigation is ongoing and appropriate follow-up actions will be completed. NOTE: During the 20 min. flaring event, the #17 flare experienced a 5 min. duration during which instrumentation indicates that a flame was not present. According to the Light Ends Title V operating permit #2589-V3, issued April 11, 2006, flares must be continuously monitored to confirm the presence of a flame. It is constively estimated that during this 5 min. period when the pilot and flame were extinguished, hydrocarbons were being emitted to the air via the unlit flame. These circumstances resulted in the exceedence of the Louisiana State Police reportable quanti | Nitrogen Oxide: 15.0 pounds Flammable Vapor: 1,067.0 pounds |
| 85618 2006-02-04 | F-600 furnace at No. 2 Reformer / Powerformer Feed Hydrotreater (RHLA-2) / No. 2 Powerformer | Cause: an instrument malfunction caused the F-600 furnace on the No. 2 Reformer to shut down. The shutdown of F-600 resulted in the Powerformer Feed Hydrotreater (RHLA-2) and the No. 2 Powerformer shutting down. The Powerformer is a major supplier of hydrogen to the refinery, and with the reduction in hydrogen supply, several units were forced to significantly reduce rates or shut down. The Feed Preparation Unit feeds RHLA-2 and with this unit shut down a valve was opened to send this stream from Feed Preparation to tankage. There is a second valve in this line that is normally open, but during this time it was closed. The second valve being closed led to a pressure increase in T-31 and caused the safety valve to release. The towe pressure was returne Followup: No Notes: Remeidal Measures - An investigation is ongoing and appropriate follow-up actions will be completed. Exxon states in their report that the accident was preventable. Their explanation is that the safety valve did not restart as it should have, nor did the operator know the second valve was closed. Could this be human error in addition to Instrument failur | Toluene: 840.0 pounds Xylene: 7,574.0 pounds Cyclohexane: 554.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 1.0 pounds Butene: 27.0 pounds Benzene: 60.0 pounds Flammable Vapor: 134,330.0 pounds Volatile Organic Compounds: 126,756.0 pounds Hexane: 1,005.0 pounds |
| 101822 2007-12-19 | Smoking flare | Cause: flame detector failed to have steam valve open properly Followup: No Notes: Steam valve opened to stop flare smoke and maintenance will be performed on the flare detection system to ensure system working as designed | |
| 101612 2007-12-11 | FLARE-Flare #17 | Cause: water wash drum reading false high Followup: No Notes: level control valve was closed and instrument was cleaned and checked to determine working properly. Process checks conducted periodically to ensure working properly | Nitrogen Oxide: 13.0 pounds Propylene: 16.0 pounds Hydrocarbon: 76.0 pounds |
| 107513 2008-07-25 | flow meter | Cause: Water leaked out of a flow meter. Followup: No Notes: The leak contained hydrogen sulfide and sour water. | |
| 106842 2008-06-30 | flare #7 | Cause: The indicator is not functioning properly, so they do not know the exact amount released to the flare. Followup: No Notes: They normally have instrumentation that tells what the values are when they are flaring. This occurred at Flare #7. | |
| 105932 2008-05-25 | Pressure vacuum vent release | Cause: Due to excess hydrocarbons in the tanks, the vapor recovery system became overwhelmed and the pressure exceeded the setpoint of the PV vents. Excess hydrocarbons was carryunder from an upstream acid settler drum that had a malfunctioning level instrument. Followup: Yes Notes: Hydrocarbon source was blocked from tanks. The reportable quantity for flammable vapor was exceeded. | Flammable Vapor: 626.0 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2008-05-21 | oil spill | Cause: The valve indicator on the loading arm drain line did not reflect the actual valve position, resulting in crude being pumped directly to the dock slop system. Crude then backed up on the dock deck resulting in the crude spill to the river. Followup: No Notes: Crude unloading operation began at Berth #1. Immediate spill response and cleanup was effective in minimizing off-site impact. | Crude Oil: 37.0 gallons |
| 105328 2008-05-03 | Cause: Experienced a minute and a half of smoking from F2 furnace. Another five minutes of smoking 40 minute later. The 02 Analyzer was malfunctioning. Followup: No Notes: The analyzer was in the process of being replaced. | ||
| 104709 2008-04-14 | Cause: There was a leak on the union of the gauge glass. The hydrocracker low pressure distillate drum water booted. Followup: No Notes: Nitrogen was put into the drum to displace the gas and the the hole will be repaired. | ||
| 119908 2009-12-04 | frac tank | Cause: Level gauge on frac tank failed as tank was being water rinsed in preparation for chemical cleaning. Followup: No Notes: RQ exceeded. Water rinse pumps stopped and area barricaded. Vacuum trucks recovered the material. Level on frac tank repaired. Procedures will be adjusted to include visual level verifications. Contaminated soil removed. | Oil: 957.6 pounds |
| 115082 2009-05-19 | pressure relief valves pressure relief valve | Cause: An Unexpected shutdown of a hydrocracker was caused by a failed thermocouple. The thermocouple failed, resulting in a low temperature reading, but then began reading erroneously high. The false high temperature reading resulted in the automatic emergency shutdown of the hydrocracking unit. The thermocouple is connected to the emergency shutdown to protect the unit from temperature runaway. The shutdown device reacted as designed. Followup: No Notes: Unit was shutdown and area secured. The RQs for flammable vapor, VOCs, H2S, and benzene was exceeded. | Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): 94,114.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 3,415.0 pounds Benzene: 275.0 pounds |
| 114103 2009-04-11 | GLA-3X compressor flare | Cause: Level instrument of GLA-3X compressor was plugged which caused the reading to be erroneously high. Compressor tripped which caused pressure to build up and a flare to be emitted. Followup: No Notes: Release exceeded RQ. Unit rates decreased to stop flaring. Cause of compressor trip is under investigation. High level alarm is bypassed to prevent recurrence. | Sulfur Dioxide: 5,104.0 pounds Propylene: 135.0 pounds |
| 112566 2009-02-06 | atmospheric safety valve | Cause: An atmospheric safety valve was lifted on the Opelousas Natural Gas header at Baton Rouge Refinery. the pressure of the header is maintained through a control valve, which opens to a lower pressure header. The control valve pressure instrument to the low pressure header failed in an open position, causing the pressure in the header to reach the release pressure of the safety valve. Followup: No Notes: Pressure instrument was replaced before returning to service. The RQ for flammable vapor was exceeded. | Flammable Vapor: 3,280.0 pounds |
| 127694 2010-11-13 | Tanks 90, 282, 99, 100, 101, and 261 | Cause: A compressor solenoid [computer] in the vapor recovery unit(VRU) developed an electrical short, which caused the VRU to shut down. The shut down caused atmosphere vents on Tanks 90, 282, 99, 100, 101, and 261 to open and relieve excess pressure. Released 2% Benzene and flammable gas. Followup: No Notes: Electricians repaired the solenoid and returned the VRU to service. They manually isolated natural gas flow from the tanks. Area around the tanks were monitored with gas test machines (readings below detection limit). Operation personnel monitored the area for odor. The RQs for benzene and flammable vapor were exceeded. | Benzene: 44.0 pounds Flammable Gas: 2,765.0 pounds |
| 127376 2010-10-28 | FLARE | Cause: Pressure instrument failed & resulted in flaring. FLARE. Followup: No Notes: BRQ. Below Reportable Quantities. | |
| 125843 2010-08-21 | Flare | Cause: Two flaring incidents in one 24hr period: on 8/21, water boot level instrument malfunction on the Hydrocracker Unit Low Pressure Separator Drum D-105; on 8/22, level instrument on Sponge Absorber Tower's reflex drum D-114x failed.
These releases exceeded RQ for sulfur dioxide. Followup: No Notes: The water boot was isolated and the drum liquid level lowered. | Sulfur Dioxide: 3,084.0 pounds |
| 124047 2010-06-06 | no information given | Cause: A crack on press instrument leaked propane found on 6/6/10. Later it was found that leak started 16 hours earlier. 4200 pounds of propane released. Reportable Quantities [RQ] exceeded. Followup: No Notes: No Information Given. LABB only has access the LDEQ incident report. | Propane: 4,200.0 pounds |
| 123244 2010-05-05 | PCLA-2 Unit | Cause: The PCLA-2 unit was following start up procedures when one of the unit's air blowers tripped due to an erroneous upstream level instrument reading. Reduced air flow rates caused an increase in light material production, which resulted in a compressor shutting down. This in turn caused hydrocarbon to be sent to the flare system, by design, until unit operations could be restored. The flaring resulted in a sulfur dioxide RQ exceedance. The original amount reported was 969 lbs, but an updated amount increased the estimate to 1,052 pounds of SO2 released.. Followup: Yes Notes: This release is RQ. Instrument level was adjusted to prevent erroneous readings. A citizen complaint ( T-13243) was also logged in by SPOC [State Police]. | Sulfur Dioxide: 1,052.0 pounds |
| 122774 2010-04-14 | FLARE: PCLA-2 [CCU] | Cause: Facility was called after smoky flare was noticed. A level instrument critical to unit operations that malfunctioned caused flaring.
Exceeded RQ for SO2. Follow-up letter states that a recent analysis of the refinery flare system resulted in updated release amount: 1653 lbs Followup: No Notes: The unit was shut down to end the release. This incident is under investigation to determine the root cause in order to prevent reoccurrence. This release exceeded the 1,000 pound RQ value for SO2. LDEQ incident report indicate that this incident is #122774 and State police #10-01932. However, the refinery letter indicates that this incident is incident #s 122774, 123224, and 124285 and state police numbers 10-01932, 10-02386, 10-03389. | Sulfur Dioxide: 1,653.0 pounds |
| 121338 2010-02-07 | None Reported | Cause: Oxygen analyzer of a tank vapor recovery unit stopped reading correctly due to malfunction of a recently replaced internal cell which tripped the VRU compressor. Followup: No Notes: Oxygen analyzer repaired and instrument cell re-calibrated. LDEQ report indicates intermittent release of toluene, benzene, xylene, and VOCs. Follow-up from refinery says no emissions since no release vents opened. Therefore, no release occurred as a result of this incident. Related citizen complaint regarding odor to LDEQ: #121473. Inconsistencies in the time in the LDEQ report and the time of the incident in the refinery report. | |
| 135484 2011-11-23 | cooling tower 52 | Cause: Potential leak in cooling tower 52. Instrument erroneously reported that a sample taken for testing was nigh in VOCs but further investigation showed there was no release to the cooling tower. Followup: No Notes: Samples taken and results were erroneously high. There was no release to the cooling tower. This was confirmed using the El Paso cooling tower sample method. | |
| 134769 2011-10-20 | Gas alarm for Cooling Tower 29 | Cause: Gas alarm was plugged causing the alarm to signal erroneously. There was no leaking cooling tower 29. Followup: No Notes: Evaluation found that there was no leak and additional sampling confirmed that there was no leak at Cooling Tower 29. | |
| 134523 2011-09-23 | Cooling Tower | Cause: Exxon contacted the state police and East Baton Rouge LEPC about an event that occurred on 9/23/11 at 9:24pm. After further evaluation, they determined that there was no release, and no reportable quantities were exceeded. Routine cooling tower sample results were erroneously high due to laboratory instrument error. Further sampling was completed to confirm no leak occurred. Followup: No Notes: Further sampling was completed to confirm no leak occurred. | |
| 134104 2011-09-21 | #52 Cooling Tower | Cause: The leak in #52 cooling tower did not occur. An instrument gave an erroneously high reading of an unknown quantity of hydrocarbons that led the refinery to believe they had a leak. This was confirmed using El Paso cooling tower sample method as approved by the MACT CC compliance testing method. Followup: No Notes: There was no release, so it is BRQ. | |
| 132753 2011-07-27 | Cooling Tower CT-53 | Cause: There was a false report of a leak of Xylene and VOCs at Cooling Tower CT-53. The false indication was do to a coincident addition of water treatment chemicals to the system. Therefore there was no release and no RQs were exceeded. Followup: No Notes: No RQs were exceeded as a result of this event. | |
| 128480 2011-01-02 | FLARE Coker unit & furnace F-301 of the Powdered Catalyst Unit (PCLA) | Cause: Two separate incidents occurred, both resulting in a release of sulfur dioxide.
Incident #1: According to the refinery letter, "a drum level instrument on the coker unit malfunctioned" falsely indicating that the drum level was high, sending coker overhead gas to the flare system. This was due to a contaminant in the air system.
Incident #2: Seal leaks on the F-301 furnace of the Powdered Catalyst Unit (PCLA) caused the release of SO2 to the atmosphere. Followup: No Notes: RQ: The first incident released 411 lbs of SO2 and the second released an additional 206 lbs for a combined 617 lbs of sulfur dioxide which exceeds the amount necessary for reportable quantities. Incident #1: To end the release, the drum level instrument was repaired, and the compressor was restarted. As the level instrument malfunctioned due to a contaminant in the instrument air system, filters in the system were replaced and the supply has been restored to prevent recurrence. Incident #2: No solution described in report. Waiting for audit to determine remedial actions. | Sulfur Dioxide: 411.0 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 206.0 pounds |
| 138524 2012-03-30 | Cooling tower #32 | Cause: Sample results indicated a release to cooling tower #32. The initial test results that indicated possible releases were later found to be erroneous, and there was no release to the cooling tower. Followup: No Notes: The refinery letter states that the initial test results were erroneously high, and there was no release to the cooling tower. | |
| 137769 2012-03-07 | Cooling Tower #53 | Cause: ExxonMobil Baton Rouge erroneously notified LA State Police and LDEQ regarding a potential release from cooling tower #53. After further testing of the cooling tower water, it was determined that the initial test results gave a false indication of a leak due to coincident addition of water treatment chemicals to the system. Followup: No Notes: The El Paso cooling tower sample method was used to verify a false indication of a leak in cooling tower #53. | |
| 136413 2012-01-09 | PHLA unit T-2 tower | Cause: Normal operating overhead pressure was exceeded on the PHLA unit T-2 tower due to a pressure controller valve malfunction. Followup: No Notes: The bypass valve was opened to reduce tower pressure, the safety valve was reset, and the unit was returned to normal operating conditions. The pressure controller instrument was replaced immediately following the event. Only the reportable quantity for flammable vapor was exceeded. | Hexane: 8.9 pounds Benzene: 6.6 pounds Flammable Vapor: 2,220.0 pounds |
| 157225 2014-07-04 | GLA-1X Compressor at PCLA unit | Cause: On 7/4/2014 the GLA-1X compressor at the PCLA unit experiences an unplanned shut down, causing material to be released to the site's flare gas system. As a result of water entering a flow meter, the meter reading incorrectly held constant while the flow increased. This led to a rapid increase in the compressor distillate drum level and when the emergency high level was reached, the protective system tripped the compressor, leading the the flaring of sulfur dioxide. Followup: No Notes: Immediately upon compressor shut down, the flow meter was repaired and the compressor was restarted. Further actions to prevent recurrence are the implementation of an alarm notification to notify operations team of flow rate deviations and valve position. | Sulfur Dioxide: 2,611.0 pounds |
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