LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

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ExxonMobil Refinery (2638), Baton Rouge

Causal Factor: Start Up, Shut Down

LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date	Point Source(s)	Notes	Amount of Release
No LDEQ Reported 2005-11-07	FLARE- No. 20 & 5	Cause: power failure caused compressor C-551 to shutdown resulting in flaring from No20 and No5 flares Followup: No Notes: A smaller compressor was started up to reduce flaring and the feed rates to the Cokers were reduced until C-551 could be restarted; an investigation was underway to determine why the automatic transfer to the backup power supply failed	Sulfur Dioxide: 4,451.0 pounds Volatile Organic Compounds: 191.0 pounds Nitrogen Oxide: 52.0 pounds Nitrogen Dioxide: 7.0 pounds
No LDEQ Reported 2005-03-09	FLARE (Nos. 5, 7, 8, 9, 17, 19, 20 and 23) Incinerators, Sites 68 and 69 Waste Water Treatment Unit	Cause: 30 minute power failure on Bulk Power Station #2. See Notes Followup: No Notes: Information for both LDEQ Incident Report numbers included on same report. Electrician doing work in the area injured. Investigation underway and findings will be implemented. May put automatic bypasses around filters in case they plug. Emissionswere minimized because some units shutdown; the vent gas from TGCU was sent through the incinerators emitting sulfur dioxide instead of the more harmful hydrogen sulfide. Power failure caused the following refinery units to shut down: No. 10 PipestilSLA-10), West Coker, 200 and 400 Trains on the Sulfer Plant, the Tail Gas Clean-up Unit, No. 2 Powerformer, Heavy Cat Napatha Units, No.1 and No.2 Sour Water Strippers, and some Depronanizers. The following Chemical Plant Units also shut down: Linea	Nitrogen Oxide: 292.0 pounds Nitrogen Dioxide: 50.0 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 30,244.0 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide: 2,671.0 pounds Propylene: 111.0 pounds Butene: 102.0 pounds
86687 2006-02-23	No.200 Sulfur Plant (SRLA-200)	Cause: emissions released during the planned shutdown of the No. 200 Sulfur Plant (SRLA-200) were regulated under the Clean Air Act requirements and the unit's MACT II Startup, Shutdown, and Malfunction Plan (SSMP) from 40 CFR 63 Subpart UUU which requiresfacilities to minimize excess emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, or malfunction Followup: No Notes: The incident occurred as a result of a scheduled, planned, and properly executed event. It was not preventable. Remedial measures are cited as appropriate procedures were followed. The emissions are federally permitted and were minimized in accordance with the MACT II SSMP. Note: there is a time discrepancy - the report states that the incident started at 1:00pm on 03/23/2006 but was discovered at 2:00pm on 03/23/2006. May 2nd follow up later states that this was a scheduledus train shutdown and this type of shutdown is expempted from the 250 ppmvd under the consent decree (paragraph 67(c)). This is not a tail gas incident because of the above mentioned exemption. The root cause of the emissions is an unavioid	Sulfur Dioxide: 16,400.0 pounds
96991 2007-06-11	FLARE-Flare #19	Cause: Followup: No Notes: Initially the flare was not noticed but when it was operating crews attempted to locate the source of the excess gas but by 2:37pm the system returned to normal, thus ending the flar	Hydrocarbon: 152.0 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 568.0 pounds Nitrogen Oxide: 26.0 pounds
107124 2008-07-10		Cause: The flaring was caused by a unit start up. Followup: No Notes: No reportable quantities were exceeded.
107052 2008-07-08	flare	Cause: They are starting up some units at the refinery which requires them to flare intermittently until midnight and possibly into the early morning tomorrow. Followup: No Notes: It requires them to flare intermittently until midnight and possibly into the early morning tomorrow which may result in the release of the gas to the air from the flare.
104916 2008-04-18		Cause: They were starting up a unit and the flange started leaking on the exchanger. Followup: No Notes: Amount of pollutant released is unknown.
116863 2009-07-28	flare system	Cause: PCLA-2 Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit restart caused discharge. Unit unexpectedly shutdown earlier in the day. Restart caused pressure to build and ultimately flaring. Followup: No Notes: RQ for SO2 exceeded. State Police HAZMAT report and company reports differ in pollutants. Feed was reduced o the unit, temperatures within unit was decreased and compressor was restarted.	Sulfur Dioxide: 1,161.0 pounds
141917 2012-08-08	R-801 reactor	Cause: Flange leak on the outlet of R-801 reactor due to thermal cycling during start-up operations of the HULA unit. Followup: No Notes: No Information Given	Flammable Vapor: 981.0 pounds