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Placid Refining (2366), Port Allen
Releases of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
| LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date |
Point Source(s) | Notes | Amount of Release |
| No LDEQ Reported 2007-10-17 | Seam tear in tank roof | Cause: Inadequate procedures for handling unstable gasoline. Followup: No Notes: Placid refinery has reivse Standard Operating Procedures and has instituted training for all operations and terminal personnel to prevent reoccurence. | 23,779.0 pounds |
| 114651 2009-05-03 | Placid's Marine recovery | Cause: Placid's Marine vapor recovery unit malfunctioned due to high temperatures. Followup: No Notes: no information given. Placid was granted a variance on its title V permit. VOC's controlled by the carbon absorption system to another control device in order to repair the system. | |
| 123707 2010-05-25 | FLARE: FCCU and sour water stripper FLARE: FCCU & sour water stripper | Cause: "FCCU shut down to replace packing on Regen Slide valve." Flaring occurred upon restart of unit. FLARE. Followup: No Notes: RQ. Incident exceeded reportable quantities for sulfur dioxide. LDEQ report states that incident investigation status is "deferred until next inspection." No information given regarding remedial actions. LDEQ report only. No refinery letter. | 94.0 pounds |
| 135611 2011-11-30 | Flare | Cause: Placid Refining Company operates a flare gas recovery unit that recovers routinely generated gases that would have been otherwise flared in Source ID 18-74. The recovery unit was shut down due to turnaround related unit cleaning activities sending high concentrations of nitrogen and steam into the flare system. This control device bypass was not approved via a variance. Followup: No Notes: Report states that no RQ's were exceeded. On the other hand, it also says that mass emission permit limits for the flare were exceeded. Placid has requested a GCXVII activity be added to their permit to cover monthly preventative maintenance on the system but this will only cover 5 hours per month. Operations will notify environmental department prior to shutting down system in the future so it can be addressed properly with the agency prior to activity. Report says to see an attached calculation with the name and quantity of released pollutants. Report shows no sign of such calculation. | 0.4 pounds |
| 129480 2011-02-24 | Tank: VOC control device | Cause: LDEQ states that the VOC stream from tank emissions was rerouted from one control device to another control device. No net emissions change from what was permitted was reported. The listed control device in the air permit for the VOC stream was taken out of service for unscheduled maintenance. It is reported that the alternate control device efficiency is equal or greater than that required by the permit. Followup: No Notes: BRQ. No Information Given. LDEQ included. No Refinery Letter. | |
| 144778 2012-11-17 | Tank 15 | Cause: The temperature in Tank 15, which stores Heavy Slurry/No. 6 fuel oil, increased to nearly 220 degrees Fahrenheit, which increased the pressure inside the tank, overwhelming the vapor control line and causing the pressure relief device to open resulting in uncontrolled emissions. Followup: No Notes: On November 17, 2012 at 7:15 Placid's terminal operators discovered the vacuum breaker relieving from the tank. TANK 15 is controlled by the facilities enclosed vapor combustor (Source ID 1-91) during normal operations therefore no emissions are authorized directly from the Source. In the report, they classify this as a single point of contact incident. Tank 15 steam coils, which are used to keep its heavy contents from becoming solid, were removed from service and additional adjustments were made to cool the product rundown in the operating unit to decrease Tank 15 temperature. 7.5 hours later, the breaker closed and the venting stopped. | 200.0 pounds |
| 142779 2012-08-31 | Tank No. 946 | Cause: Due to excess rainfall associated with Hurricane Isaac on August 31, 2012, Placid diverted excess storm water from a permitted wastewater tank No. 940 to an unpermitted out of service clean open top tank No. 946. Approximately 4,200 barrels of water was transferred to prevent an overflow of tank No. 940 an/or tank No. 17, Placid's two permitted wastewater tanks. Placid's process units were in hot circulation mode and feed was removed from the process units due to the storm. The suction line used to transfer the water from tank No. 940 to tank No. 946 was located in the middle of the tank to minimize carryover of sludge or floating oil. Followup: No Notes: The water was transferred back from tank No, 946 to tank No. 940 on September 5, 2012. Movement of storm water into tank No. 946 was necessary to prevent a bypass condition in the Refinery waste water plant and to prevent potential adverse environmental impact and.or severe property damage. Placid's current LPDES permit provides for prohibition of bypass where feasible retention of untreated wastes is an alternative. Stormwater was diverted to a wastewater tank and therefore the pollutant becomes wastewater rather than stormwater. An attached document provides water emission calculations for Tank 946 and shows a total of 5.88 lbs/day daily emissions for total VOC released. No emissions were reportable quantity. | 40.0 pounds |
| 136500 2012-01-13 | Tank 15 | Cause: According to the Courtesy Notification of release from Tank 15 thay is ongoing, "the fixed roof tank over pressured and caused a bulge in the roof. Several holes developed along the seams allowing the tank to vent emissions to the atmosphere instead of the vapor combuster". Venting fumes directly to the atmosphere. Followup: No Notes: "The tank is storing heavy No.6 oil and a plan to repair or take the tank out of service for repairs is being developed and will be implemented as soon as practical",according to the refinery report. Tank is cooled and emptied. The tank will be cleaned in 30 days and repairs will be made but due to the heavy contents, this may last 6 months conservatively. SPOC states that emissions for VOCs were less than 1000 lbs and less than 10 lbs for H2S. Follow-up letter states that a discharge was in excess of of permit levels and will cause a deviation that will last longer than 7 days, but there is no indication of which pollutant they might be referring to. Tank 15 must be cleaned to repair the tears on the roof. This operation requires a completely sealed tank, therefore, breathing emissions are now going to the atmosphere and will continue until the tank is de-inventoried. Unsure of how long it will take to clean and repair the tank due to heavy storage contents, and conservatively assumes it will take at least six months to complete. | 1,000.0 pounds |
| 146444 2013-02-01 | overhead line | Cause: Leak developed in overhead line releasing propane, butane, and hydrogen fluoride. Followup: No Notes: Refining report's total time of release seems to be incorrect: stated as " Beginning Time 1050 hours on 2/1/13 through 1110 hours 1/23/13. SPOC states that incident was secured within 18 minutes. No loss of sources of radiation; the release point is not subject to permit. Release immediately controlled with water deluge and unit shut down; failed piping to be replaced with comprehensive inspection of related piping in affected unit. | 3,800.0 pounds |
| 146198 2013-01-21 | electric fan/blower motor on Placid's internal vapor combustor | Cause: At approximately 1315 hours on 1/21/13, an electric fan/blower motor on Placid's internal vapor combustor failed (source ID 1-91, EQT 0041). A complete shutdown of the vapor combustor resulted from the fan motor failure.
The official root cause of the incident is mechanical failure. Followup: No Notes: At the time of the combustor shutdown emissions from barge loading of sour naptha, truck rack loading and applicable storage tanks were being controlled by the combustor. As designed, upon loss of the combustor, all loading activities were automatically interrupted. Placid switched control of the truck rack and barge loading emissions to the carbon unit and resumed loading. However, switching storage tank emissions to the carbon unit was not possible. Placid discontinued nonessential movements through tankage during this period, however, VOC emissions did occur as a result of this mechanical failure and the RQ for total VOCs, benzene, and 1,3 Butadiene were exceeded. During the time of the combustor outage Placid personnel conducted perimeter air monitoring. All readings were non-detect. Placid expedited removal and repair of the applicable motor and had it back in service at 1815 on 1/23/13. They admit that there was off-site impact in the form of air dispersion. Placid repaired the motor in question and review PM procedures to ensure they are adequate. There were no injuries or emergency conditions. | 10,899.0 pounds |
| 156170 2014-05-23 | drain valve | Cause: On May 23, 2014 water and alkylate (a gasoline blending component) was discovered around the parameter of Placid's above ground tank number 16. The tanks floating roof drain valve was found to be leaking. The valve was blocked in to stop the leak and cleanup of approximately four barrels of alkylation and water was conducted.
On May 24, 2014 additional alkylate was discovered and further investigation revealed the tank developed a small leak from a bottom side wall. Air pumps were set up to capture and pump the leaking alkylate to storage. A water heal of approximately 6 inches was pumped into the bottom of tank 16 to prevent product from leaking while the tank was de-inventoried. Area air monitoring was conuducted for LEL, VOCs, and benzene.
On May 25, 2014 at approximately 10:00 hours the floating roof on tank 16 landed. De-inventorying continued until 18:00 hours when low suction was lost. The remaining product and water was removed (stripped) via air pumps.
On May 26, at 9:30 hours the stripping was completed and a third party vendor began a controlled vapor degassing of the tank using a thermal oxidizer.
On May 29, cleaning the floor of any residual sludge began so the tank could be inspected for needed repairs. Additionally, evaluation of any contaminated soil will also be addressed and the tank will remain out of service until repairs are completed.
Report states that while the reason for the leak is still under investigation, it is expected to be corrosion related. Followup: No Notes: Release materials was recovered and returned to storage. Potentially impacted soil will be evaluated upon entry into the tank. A water heal was added to the tank, the tank was de-inventoried and degassed. Product was recovered and returned to storage. Soil to be tested and removed if contaminated. Air pumps captured leaking Alkylate. | 1,258.0 pounds |
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