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Phillips 66 (2538), Lake Charles

Releases of Hydrogen Sulfide

LDEQ Accident Number
Accident Date
Point Source(s) Notes Amount of Release
05-BB007-1

2007-07-05
Tank T-21 (EP-601), Tank T-22(EP-602), Tank T-91 (EP-623)
Cause: No Information Provided

Followup: No Information Provided

Notes: Permit limits exceeded. 7 Day occurrence.
No Information Provi
78243

2005-04-13
Unknown
Cause: No Information given

Followup: No Information Provided

Notes: Private citizen called and stated that there was an unknown release from ConocoPhillips. The material was covering cars in Lyonade Chemicals Gate7. Citizen requested DEQ to take sample of the substance, which they did. The analysis results from LDEQ'
7.0 pounds
78229

2005-04-12
#2 Cooker
Cause: -Release due to accidental opening of an atmospheric valve on a coke drum which occurred during a drum switch.

Followup: No

Notes: Immediately upon discovery the valve was closed and the release ended. The incident was preventable, however the reportable quantities were not exceeded, therefore notification made as courtesy only. Release associated with citizen complaint above, in
7.0 pounds
76759

2005-02-04
Excel- Sulfur Plant (EP-11)
Cause: while calibrating the Amine Acid Gas Flow Meter the main air flow decreased when the Amine Acid Gas Meter indicated zero flow. Analyzer stabilization was put on manual and air demand analyzer wasn't, which caused the thermal Oxidizer

Followup: No

Notes: Added air. No excess emissions above permit limits, therefore the notification as made as a courtesy. Incident investigation is underway which will generate the necessary actions to prevent reoccurrence.
86.0 pounds
89035

2006-07-02
Area A - No. 1 Coker
Cause: A six inch drain valve on a live coke drum was inadvertantly opened by operator.

Followup: Yes

Notes: Interlocks that failed to prevent this event is being looked at. Live drum indications and permissive controls from the board are planned. HAZMAT #
53.0 pounds
88848

2006-06-24
Area B - South Flare (EP-31)
Cause: Planned maintenance to reinstall RV on #1 Amine Regeneration Unit (ARU) required shutdown of the South Flare Gas Recovery system.

Followup: No Information Provided

Notes: South Flare Gas Recovery Compressor was restarted following completion of work. HAZMAT #06-03981
88503

2006-06-12
Area B - South Flare (EP-31)
Cause: The South Flare Recovery Compressor was shutdown to perform relief valve inspection work.

Followup: No Information Provided

Notes: Once inspection was complete, compressor was put back in service. HAZMAT#
1.0 pounds
88366

2006-06-06
Area B- South Flare (EP31)
Cause: see notes. Intermittent power surge due to malfunctions at the Entergy Power Company. Emissions resulted from power failure.

Followup: No Information Provided

Notes: Power failure. Restarted and/or isolatedpertinant units to prevent further impact. HAZMAT#
47.0 pounds
86572

2006-03-18
Area B- South Flare (EP31)
Cause: Emissions occurred when the SFGR compressor system was shut down to install relief valves.

Followup: No Information Provided

Notes: South Flare Caustic Scrubber was in service during this outage. HAZMAT#
less than 1
86154

2006-03-02
Area C- North Flare (EP-64)
Cause: The No. # Crude Unit shut down for turnaround resulted in excess emissio

Followup: No Information Provided

Notes: No Information given.
12.0 pounds
86076

2006-02-27
Area B -South Flare (EP31)
Cause: South Flare Gas Recover compressor was shutdown to facilitate flare work on W-10.

Followup: No Information Provided

Notes: Work is planned to minimize duration of compressor outage thus minimizing quantity of pollutants releases. HAZMAT #06-01195
1.0 pounds
85943

2006-02-24
Area B- South Flare (EP31)
Cause: Release caused by poor NaHS operation and south flare caustic scrubber startup not completed.

Followup: No Information Provided

Notes: South Flare Caustic Scrubber is in full operation. HAZMAT # 06-01158
61.0 pounds
85778

2006-02-11
North Flare (EP-64)
Cause: see notes. A loss of electrical power occurred caused by failure of an Entergy own electrical transformer. The electrical power loss resulted in emergency shutdown of the majority of process units. Emergency shutdown instrumentation directed hydrocarbon gas streams to the refinery complex flares resulting in excess emissions of SO2, H2S, and NOx from the complex's North and South Flares. Additional flaring of gas streams resulted from the staggered process unit and various start up once electrical power was restore

Followup: Yes

Notes: POWER FAILURE. A root cause failure analysis is being conducted on this incident. Its results will be used to develop actions that will potentially preclude a recurrence.
3,400.0 pounds
85778

2006-02-11
North Flare (EP-64)
Cause: see notes. A loss of electrical power occurred caused by failure of an Entergy own electrical transformer. The electrical power loss resulted in emergency shutdown of the majority of process units. Emergency shutdown instrumentation directed hydrocarbon gas streams to the refinery complex flares resulting in excess emissions of SO2, H2S, and NOx from the complex's North and South Flares. Additional flaring of gas streams resulted from the staggered process unit and various start up once electrical power was restore

Followup: Yes

Notes: POWER FAILURE. A root cause failure analysis is being conducted on this incident. Its results will be used to develop actions that will potentially preclude a recurrence.
640.0 pounds
85529

2006-02-01
Excel Paralubes SRU (EP-111)

Failed check valve
South Flare (EP-31)
West Flare (EP-110)
Cause: Loss of containment occurred due to the structural failure of check valve on the discharge of Heater H-11001, which allowed a hydrocarbon release to the atmosphere. The hydrocarbons ignited causing significant damage to the process piping and insturmentation associated with the heater

Followup: Yes

Notes: root cause failure analysis is being conducted. Its results will be used to develop actions that will preclude a recurrence of this event.
1,200.0 pounds
85529

2006-02-01
Excel Paralubes SRU (EP-111)

Failed check valve
South Flare (EP-31)
West Flare (EP-110)
Cause: Loss of containment occurred due to the structural failure of check valve on the discharge of Heater H-11001, which allowed a hydrocarbon release to the atmosphere. The hydrocarbons ignited causing significant damage to the process piping and insturmentation associated with the heater

Followup: Yes

Notes: root cause failure analysis is being conducted. Its results will be used to develop actions that will preclude a recurrence of this event.
900.0 pounds
85529

2006-02-01
Excel Paralubes SRU (EP-111)

Failed check valve
South Flare (EP-31)
West Flare (EP-110)
Cause: Loss of containment occurred due to the structural failure of check valve on the discharge of Heater H-11001, which allowed a hydrocarbon release to the atmosphere. The hydrocarbons ignited causing significant damage to the process piping and insturmentation associated with the heater

Followup: Yes

Notes: root cause failure analysis is being conducted. Its results will be used to develop actions that will preclude a recurrence of this event.
3,000.0 pounds
85529

2006-02-01
Excel Paralubes SRU (EP-111)

Failed check valve
South Flare (EP-31)
West Flare (EP-110)
Cause: Loss of containment occurred due to the structural failure of check valve on the discharge of Heater H-11001, which allowed a hydrocarbon release to the atmosphere. The hydrocarbons ignited causing significant damage to the process piping and insturmentation associated with the heater

Followup: Yes

Notes: root cause failure analysis is being conducted. Its results will be used to develop actions that will preclude a recurrence of this event.
2.0 pounds
100322

2007-10-22
Vacuum Truck
Cause: OTHER-Chemical reaction

Followup: No

Notes: Chemical reaction between acid being transferred and materials in truck. One working who was handling the truck died shortly after and the other was taken to the hospital. Will be reported in Title V deviation report.
83.0 pounds
100164

2007-10-13
Tank 73
Cause: internal floating roof on Tank 73

Followup: No

Notes: No information given
1.0 pounds
97796

2007-07-12
Y-4 Cooling Tower
Cause: Exchanger X-3281 in the #7 HDS Unit failed

Followup: No

Notes: cooling tower side of the exchanger was isolated form the cooling tower water system to stop the release.
384.0 pounds
96694

2007-05-31
South Flare
Cause: instrument malfunction on a drum on the scrubber on the flare header

Followup: Yes

Notes: Cause analysis being performed to determine cause and prevent recurrence.
12.0 pounds
95182

2007-04-06
No. 8 HDS Separator Piping
Cause: -weld on line failed, developed le

Followup: No

Notes: Unit depressurized while weld repaired. Spool piece installed and unit returned to normal operation the next day
11.0 pounds
108922

2008-09-08
No information given
North Flare
Cause: No information given

Followup: No

Notes: Date on letter from DEQ (01/05/2008) and date of incident (9/8/08) indicate an error of some kind in the reporting. DEQ report indicates that a flare pilot went out. No information given concerning which flare or reason for the outage.
302.0 pounds
108922

2008-09-08
No information given
North Flare
Cause: No information given

Followup: No

Notes: Date on letter from DEQ (01/05/2008) and date of incident (9/8/08) indicate an error of some kind in the reporting. DEQ report indicates that a flare pilot went out. No information given concerning which flare or reason for the outage.
302.0 pounds
108898

2008-09-07
North Flare
Cause: courtesy notification pollutants released during facility start

Followup: No

Notes: Letter concerns possible flare outage, states that accumulation of steam concealed flare and no pilot outage occurred. Courtesty notification onl
107264

2008-07-16
Area D Tank Farm
Cause: Seal failure on P-486 resulted in loss of containment of sour naptha

Followup: No

Notes: INCIDENT EXCEEDS RQ. Pump suction and discharge were blocked in when operators were alerted to event from an adjacent operating area
106325

2008-06-10
No. 7 HDS Unit
Cause: leaking plug on HDS cited as cause of release

Followup: No

Notes: Letter states that emissions were BRQ.
103888

2008-03-13
Area A Exchanger
Cause: excessive temperature swings in a reboiler caused a flange to open and release stabilized gasoline

Followup: No

Notes: Report states that emission were BRQ. Gas Recovery Plant reboiler leak
103619

2008-03-04
API/CPI system sludge sump
Cause: gasoline entered the oily water system and caused an upset after operator fails to use appropriate control device

Followup: No

Notes: LEL alarms lowered to alert Operations sooner of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere. Process and procedures surrounding mgmt of tank water draws and process indicators will be reviewed. Follow-up letter from DEQ states that C-P failed to notify DEQ within 24 hrs of incident and that the tank operator failed to use a control device to block gasoline from entering wastewater system
1.0 pounds
103064

2008-02-13
South Flare - EQT 080
Cause: malfunction of south flare gas caustic scrubber level due to a plugged drain line

Followup: No

Notes: Caustic line unplugged and spent caustic replaced with fresh caustic
32.0 pounds
108607

2007-07-05
Excel Paralubes Sulfur Recovery Unit Stack
Cause: start up post-Gustav causes flari

Followup: No

Notes: Abnormally high concentration of light hydrocarbons in the Reaction Furnace. The change in feed composition reduced the unit's effectiveness at converting H2S to sulfur. As a result, the concentration of H2S went beyond the hourly permit limits fromthe SRU sta
6.0 pounds
103301

2007-07-05
South Flare - EQT 080
Cause: upset in the ARU

Followup: No

Notes: Level indicator on #2 regenerator tower malfunctioned and there isn't a redundant level indicator. Root Cause analysis estimates release at 19,800 lbs - approx 3,000 lbs more than original repor
178.0 pounds
118250

2009-09-28
GRP unit
Cause: Exchanger leak in the GRP unit. The channel head was leaking due to a reduction in charge rates.

Followup: No

Notes: No information given.
10.9 pounds
111853

2009-01-07
North Flare
Cause: A net gas compressor shut down due to high vibrations, this resulted in a high volume of material being sent to the north flare.

Followup: Yes

Notes: No information given
111828

2009-01-07
North Flare
Cause: Net gas compressor in No. 10 reformer was shutdown due to high vibrations. The shut down caused high volumes of gas and liquids to the North Flare. This resulted in a surge of high pressure on the flare header line to the North Flare.

Followup: Yes

Notes: Immediately after the discharge, Conoco Phillips shut down Old Spanish Trail Roadway, and the North Flare was taken out of service. A Conoco personnel did a FLIR camera monitoring of the flare header line for VOC leakage. No leaks were found. LDEQ personnel were dispatched to the site later in the day after the discharge. They collected a summa canister air sample offsite and downwind of the North Flare. The canister did not detect any readings. Samples of ditch water was collected by Conoco Phillips on the north side of Old Spanish Trail on Sasol property. The water samples of SO2 was detected to be 0.7-4.0ppm, while H2S and VOCs levels were not detectable. During the collection, the inspectors described a pungent, sulfuric odor. CITIZEN COMPLAINT (T111853)- Ms. Debra Ramirez stated concern over the Conoco Phillips discharge. The LDEQ inspector's observations stated that the release was caused by a malfunction of the net gas compressor in the No. 10 reformer, which relieves to the North Flare. In an attempt to mitigate the release, operations began cutting charge rates to the units and diverting vent streams from the North Flare to the South Flare system.
128016

2010-12-07
amine gas feed line to #1 ECC
Cause: Leak on the amine gas feed line pipe at the #1 ECC #1 sulfur recovery unit. LDEQ report states that "leak was originally discovered when an internal H2S monitor picked-up an unknown quantity from inside the refinery."

Followup: No

Notes: Feed taken out of the line and nitrogen introduced to purge amine gas; #1 SRU unit shut down; line replaced.
1,050.0 pounds
126343

2010-09-10
piping on Pump P-20038
Cause: Failure of piping network around the HGVO Product Pumb (P-20038) due to high vibration. Refinery states that offsite impact investigation concluded that .6 to 1/2 barrels of HVGO aerosolized and dispersed into the air.

Followup: Yes

Notes: RQ: The amount of HGVO released exceeded reportable quantities. The diameter of the discharge piping will be increased to recommended engineering standards and a program will be developed to identify and maintain settings on the spring cans. Second follow-up letter was dated 12/22/10.
131210

2011-05-11
flare
Cause: Flare went out. No further information given.

Followup: No

Notes: No information given regarding amount released. LDEQ and SPOC reports only; no refinery letter.
128741

2011-01-16
T-74 Oily Sewer Sump
Cause: Refinery unauthorized discharge notification report states that the T-74 oily sewer pump level indicator appears to have failed to start the pumps operating. Overflow of crude oil into a railroad ditch occurred.

Followup: No

Notes: The oil was cleaned up using vacuum trucks, absorbent booms, and pads. The frequency of operator rounds has been increased. Refinery letter states that no off-site impact occurred and that impact to the sides of railroad ditch were "almost nonexistent."
0.0 pounds
152968

2013-12-20
4/5 SRU
Cause: The thermal oxidizer on the unit lost the flame when the when the combustion air blower shut down.

Followup: No

Notes:
152618

2013-11-28
#1 and #2 Sulfur Recovery Units
Cause: On November 28, there was a unit upset due to cold weather which caused a loss of the sour water gas flow indication and a release of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Report states that the amount of pollutants released were less than the reportable quantities, and no further action will be taken.

Followup: No

Notes:
152440

2013-11-16
T-71001
Cause: On November 16, a fire occurred within the vapor space of the roof on T-71001, the Sour Water Stripper feed tank at Excel Paralubes. Immediately after the incident, process changes were made to minimize the flow to the tank. The process of removing feed from the tank was completed at 3pm on November 17. Deinventory of the tank contents is nearly complete with an estimated 2 feet of material left in the tank. The process of diluting and removing the remaining material is expected to be completed throughout the next week. Once the tank is completely emptied, a damage assessment will be completed for the tank and any associated equipment. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Followup: No

Notes: The fire was extinguished quickly and no offsite impact occurred. Based on engineering calculations, it is estimated that the combustion emissions of sulfur dioxide and volatile organic carbons from the first did not exceed the respective reportable quantities.
7.5 pounds
153631

2014-02-03
T-38 Flare (EQT 240) of Area D
Cause: An unknown quantity of H2S was released from a flare to the atmosphere due to a pilot flame outage. The source was identified as the T-38 Flare (EQT 240) of Area D, Permit 2626-V9. The flare is equipped with an automatic shut-off valve on the flare piping at the time of the flame outage the valve closed as the intended design, and thus only the material in the flare piping was released.

Followup: No

Notes: The flare pilots were out for approximately 20 minutes. Engineering calculations determined that the amounts of H2S and VOC release during the outage was less than the reportable quantity. There is no mention of what caused the pilot outage.
153147

2014-01-06
North Flare
Cause: Facility initially reported release of unknown quantities of H2S and Liquified Petroleum Gas. Follow-up letter from the company stated that the release was from the North Flare, due to sudden loss of electrical power in Area C Desalters, causing process upset.

Followup: No

Notes: Facility initially reported release of unknown quantities of H2S and LPG. Letter stated release of SO2 was below the reportable quantity (RQ) and later confirmed via telephone by a Phillips 66 representative that the amount release was 22 lbs. It was noted that there is no RQ for SO2 under CERCLA regulations but rather the RQ for SO2 under EPCRA regulations is 500 lbs for which reporting to the Louisiana State Police is required. There is documentation of what caused the power outage or duration of the emission.