LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

About the Database

Formosa Plastics (288), Baton Rouge

Causal Factor: Equipment Failure

LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date	Point Source(s)	Notes	Amount of Release
87511 2006-04-29	NC204	Cause: There was a ruptured disc tattle tale on NC204. Followup: No Notes: The relief valve was isolated. Amount released is unknown but believed to be less than one pound. LABB file only contains State Police report--no LDEQ report.
86724 2006-03-24	Reactor shell on NR301C	Cause: Hole in the reactor shell on NR301C. Followup: No Notes: Shut down shell NR301C and secured it. Amount of ethylene dichloride released is unknown.
99995 2007-10-05	a vessel	Cause: Vinyl chloride release from venting of a vessel when DCM Control System was lost. Released 5815lb VCM from thermal overpressure of a PVC reactor. The power filter malfunction caused UPSto shut down and allowed monetary power interruption to DCS and triggered a manual shut down. Followup: Notes: Shut down the unit to secure the release. The reliability of power filters was tested extensively before putting them back into service. People will be trained to look for power failures of this nature.	Vinyl Chloride: 5,815.0 pounds
106983 2008-07-03	Discharge pump	Cause: A pinhole leak developed on a discharge pump, but the cause of the leak was unknown. Followup: No Notes: The release was stopped by valving out the equipment and ceasing use. Amount of Vinyl Chloride and Ethylene Dichloride released is unknown.
106814 2008-06-27	reboiler	Cause: Steam was lost throughout the plant, which caused the reboiler to cool down quickly, which caused the release from a gasket leak on the reboiler. Followup: No Notes: The release was secured when the steam came back up. Late notification because "they were just tied up." Amount of Vinyl Chloride and Ethylene Dichloride released is unknown. LDEQ report indicates that LDEQ received written report on 7/8/08, but that report is not included in LABB's file.
106331 2008-06-11	NT506A tank	Cause: There was a leak on NT506A tank. Readings on the tank were 11 PPM. Followup: No Notes: Operators pumped the tank down to secure the incident.
105120 2008-04-26	Quench filter pump	Cause: There was a pinhole leak on a quench filter pump. Followup: No Notes: The leak was isolated, and troubleshooting for repairs was initiated.
104120 2008-03-24	column	Cause: Leak from the bottom of a column and EDC leak. The cause of high pressure is unknown. High pressure caused steam to trip and column temperature went down causing expansion which allowed EDC to leak from the seals to the bottom of the column. Followup: No Notes: Secured.
115373 2009-05-30	Reactor NR301A	Cause: Reactor NR301A developed a pinhole leak on a "hard blind." The plant personnel could not pick up the ethylene dichloride with dredger tubes adjacent to the reactor. Followup: No Notes: The facility expressed plans to cap and reinforce the "hard blind."	Ethylene dichloride: 10.0 pounds
126823 2010-10-02	condenser to coolant tower	Cause: Release of ethyl dichloride and vinyl chloride due to a condenser leak to the coolant tower. Followup: No Notes: Retesting coolant tower. Amount of ethyl dichloride and vinyl chloride released is unknown.
124335 2010-06-12	Relief valve on heat recovery steam generator #3	Cause: The cause is believed to have been the failure of two pressure regulators in series on the natural gas pipeline, which then caused the pressure relief valve to open to protect the integrity of the line and equipment. The release was discovered on 6/21/10, but the LDEQ report states that the release duration may have occurred over a 10-day period beginning on 6/12/10. Relief valve on heat recovery steam generator #3 for natural gas. Followup: Notes: Upon discovery, the release was immediately isolated.	Natural Gas: 340,599.0 pounds
121465 2010-02-11	Furnace A (point source 230A)	Cause: Permission emissions limit was exceeded at Furnace A. A tube in the furnace convection section had failed. 143 lbs of HCL was emitted. No reportable quantity was exceeded. Followup: No Notes: No information given	Hydrogen Chloride: 143.0 pounds
139199 2012-04-25	Cooling Tower Heat Exchanger	Cause: The refinery reported a possible release when cooling tower samples showed high readings from a possible heat exchanger leak. Followup: No Notes: Email communication indicates that there was an initial miscommunication concerning the sample results. According to the email, there was no exceedance of reportable quantities.