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ExxonMobil Chemical Plant (286), Baton Rouge
Releases of Napthalene
| LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date |
Point Source(s) | Notes | Amount of Release |
| 107618 2008-07-30 | Heat exchanger LE-01 at OLA-2X No information given. | Cause: Leakage occurred from a heat exchanger LE-01 at OLA-2X to the cooling water tower GFLA-1. Followup: No Notes: Release rates: benzene (14.4 lb/day), toluene (15.02 lb/day), napthalene (6.3 lb/day). CRO received report on 8/11/08. There were 22 daily RQ exceedances during 7/9/08 at 9 AM and 7/31/08 at 12:30 PM. Leakage from heat exchanger LE-01 at OLA 2-X to the cooling water tower GFLA-1 which is subject to monitoring program under Ethylene MACT. The leaking exchanger was blocked in to stop the leak. Leaking tubes were tp be repaired. The facility argued that the actual discovery of the leak was 7/22/08 when the sample analysis indicated a leak. They will be referred to enforcement for further action. Release quantities listed are an estimate using the rates given multiplied by 22 days. | 138.6 pounds |
| 107618 2008-07-30 | Heat exchanger LE-01 at OLA-2X No information given. | Cause: Leakage occurred from a heat exchanger LE-01 at OLA-2X to the cooling water tower GFLA-1. Followup: No Notes: Release rates: benzene (14.4 lb/day), toluene (15.02 lb/day), napthalene (6.3 lb/day). CRO received report on 8/11/08. There were 22 daily RQ exceedances during 7/9/08 at 9 AM and 7/31/08 at 12:30 PM. Leakage from heat exchanger LE-01 at OLA 2-X to the cooling water tower GFLA-1 which is subject to monitoring program under Ethylene MACT. The leaking exchanger was blocked in to stop the leak. Leaking tubes were tp be repaired. The facility argued that the actual discovery of the leak was 7/22/08 when the sample analysis indicated a leak. They will be referred to enforcement for further action. Release quantities listed are an estimate using the rates given multiplied by 22 days. | |
| 107433 2008-07-22 | H furnace | Cause: Three events occurred within 24 hours of one another at the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Chemical Plant. Two are reported in this report (LDEQ #107433), the other is reported separately (LDEQ #107421). In this incident (107433), a furnace tube leaked into convection section of H-furnace and caught fire. The tube leak occurred as a result of the incident described in report #107421.
At approximately 5:56 PM on July 21, 2008, the charge gas compressor at the Olefins unit shut down when several processing cards in the gas turbine control system failed. When the compressor shut down, four furnaces automatically shut down and the gas in the furnaces was evacuated to the flare system. One of the remaining three furnaces was subsequently shut down while the remaining two furnaces continued to operated at 50% rates in order to maintain stable unit operations, which resulted in additional flaring for the duration of the event. The high rate of gas to the flare system resulted in the #25 flare smoking for 2 hours and 17 minutes.
When the Olefins unit shut down, steam was introduced into the furnaces to displace the hydrocarbon feed to reduce flaring emissions. At 12:20 PM on July 22, 2008, while the H furnace was in the process of starting up, a leak was discovered in the convection section of the furnace. To stop the leak, water was introduced into the leaking pass of the furnace to displace the hydrocarbon feed. It is believed that the leak developed when steam was introduced into the furnace.
Tube leaked into convection section of H-furnace and caught fire. Followup: Yes Notes: This incident is the result of the incident #107421 (see comments under that incident). Immediately after the incident began, five of the seven furnaces at the Olefins unit were shut down. Excess gas was sent to flare system. Water was introduced into the leaking furnace pass to displace the feed and prevent uncombusted hydrocarbons from leaking into the atmosphere. Concerning subsequent preventative actions, the failed processing cards were replaced. The H furnace was taken out of service to be inspected for leak location and repairs will be completed as necessary. Used water in the tube to eliminate the burning material. Flammable gass consisted of mainly Butane. | 1.0 |
| 105242 2008-04-30 | de-coke drum | Cause: They are investigating the root cause of the incident. A furnace at SACC unit was being returned to service. Hydrocarbon gases got into the de-coke drum and vented to the atmosphere. Followup: No Notes: No additional information given. | |
| 115611 2009-06-12 | pipe | Cause: Pinhole leak in a pipe. Followup: No Notes: There was a pinhole leak in a pipe. They were working to repair it. Said they would call with an update. | 100.0 pounds |
| 115101 2009-05-20 | Furnace A Furance A | Cause: Cracking furnace A was put back into service when tube leaks in the convection section occurred and smoke evolved. Followup: No Notes: The products probably exceeded reportable quantities. They were putting "A" furnace in service and experienced convection section tube leaks. They have taken the feed out of the furnace and put steam back in. They eliminated any fuel. They said they would update with more information. No final quantities of release. | 100.0 pounds |
| 115101 2009-05-20 | Furnace A Furance A | Cause: Cracking furnace A was put back into service when tube leaks in the convection section occurred and smoke evolved. Followup: No Notes: The products probably exceeded reportable quantities. They were putting "A" furnace in service and experienced convection section tube leaks. They have taken the feed out of the furnace and put steam back in. They eliminated any fuel. They said they would update with more information. No final quantities of release. | |
| 113475 2009-03-18 | control valve of HCE compressor WILA tanks #8 and 9 | Cause: The release was caused by the failure of a control valve downstream of the HCE compressor. The control valve downstream of the HCE compressor failed to close which caused the HCE compressor to trip off. Followup: Notes: Since there was no outlet for the vapor in the HCE system, the pressure built in the tanks until the pressure vents lifted, released hydrocarbon to the atmosphere. The back up hydrocarbon emissions control system which uses vacuum jets to recover the excess vapors was comissioned. Proper operation of the vacuum jets was confirmed shortly thereafter. The control valve and instrumentation will be repaired and inspected before being returned to servvice. | 1.7 pounds |
| 112630 2009-02-09 | corroded line that ties into bleeder valve | Cause: Corroded line that ties into a bleeder valve started leaking Followup: No Notes: The line was isolated. Cleaned up with absorbent pads. Also clean up crew was en route to clean up the soil in containment area. | 100.0 pounds |
| 124880 2010-07-15 | pipe in pipe bank | Cause: A pipe in a pipe bank was leaking. Followup: No Notes: Leak was discovered by people walking through the unit that noticed the leak. They called in liquid naptha (general term). | 1.0 gallons |
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