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ExxonMobil Chemical Plant (286), Baton Rouge
Releases in 2008
| LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date |
Point Source/Release | Cause | Notes |
| 111419 2008-12-15 | Point Source(s): valve Pollutant(s):Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - BRQ Isopropanol - BRQ Flammable Vapor - BRQ Flammable Liquid - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing Piping and valve leaked through by tank. Had a piping prepared for mechanical repairs and a valve leaked through by the tank. | The bleeder was blocked to stop the leak. Need to remediate the contaminated soil. Spill was vacuumed off. RQs for VOCs were exceeded. Release leaked to the soil and evaporated. Report was recorded by SPOC on 12/29/08. |
| 111125 2008-11-30 | Point Source(s): Tower CT01 Pollutant(s):Propylene - BRQ Flammable Gas - BRQ Propane - BRQ Flammable Gas - BRQ Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compounds - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing They have a leak on the "bottoms line" on Tower CT01 | Water was applied to wash down liquids. Incident caused by a leak on the "bottoms line" on Tower CT01. Unit was shut down. No quantities were exceeded. Material went off site and the air was not monitored. |
| 110988 2008-11-22 | Point Source(s): pump seal Pollutant(s):Benzene - 10 pounds | Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket Pump seal failed causing a release of Benzene to concrete inside of containment area. | Pump seal failed causing a release of benzene to concrete inside of containment area. Pump was shut down and benzene was washed out. Report says no RQs were exceeded but 10 b is the RQ for benzene. |
| 110452 2008-10-29 | Point Source(s): Charge gas compressor Pollutant(s): - 36 pounds - 120 pounds | Cause of Problem: Human Factors | They had an upset on a charge gas compressor and had to flare. They shut off the valve to stop the flaring. LDEQ received Exxon's report on 11/7/08. The release to the flare occurred as a result of incorrect pressure set point of the flare relief valve on the compressor suction. It was lowered during a previous upset and inadvertently not changed to the normal operating conidtions. Deferred until next inspection. Initial report says 120 lbs of ethylene were released but later report says 104 lbs. RQs exceeded for ethylene. |
| 110418 2008-10-28 | Point Source(s): Line in the Isopropanol unit Pollutant(s):Propylene - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing Had a leak on a line in the isopropanol unit. | The line was being blocked in a depressurized. Exxon's report was received on 11/5/08. No RQ exceedence for this incident. Amount of propylene released is unknown. |
| 110384 2008-10-26 | Point Source(s): Ethylene Purification Unit Pollutant(s): - 1,034 pounds - 1,520 pounds - 1,709 pounds - 317 pounds - 329 pounds - 3,190 pounds - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure | Exxon believes that RQs were exceeded for all products released. Due to equipment failure, there was an unplanned shutdown of the Ethylene purificaInitial report says that they may exceed for RQs for Ethylene, propylene, nitrogen oxide, and opacity. Exxon's report was received on 11/5/08, and it said that no RQ exceedences occurred. The activity associated with this is covered under the Sp. Condition 2 of the operating Titile V permit for the Main train unit. |
| 110176 2008-10-17 | Point Source(s): Furnace stack Pollutant(s):Methane - BRQ Smoke - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Process Upset Feed upset caused smoking furnace stack. | Furnace stack was smoking creating opacity issues. Exxon said this is a permit deviation. A feed upset caused the problem.Exxon says no RQ exceedences. Amount of methane and smoke released is unknown. |
| 110123 2008-10-15 | Point Source(s): Storage tanks Natural Gas blankets on tanks Pollutant(s): - BRQ - 0 | Cause of Problem: No Information Given | Seepage of natural gas blanket from storage tanks occurring on 10/15/08. They were emitting it at a rate of 1005 lbs/day. Maintenance was planned for the next week. Report says no RQ exceedences. |
| 109952 2008-10-08 | Point Source(s): Flange on a reactor Pollutant(s):Propane - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket Flange leak on a reactor. | They shut down the reactor to stop the leak. Propane is the chemical involved. Report said no RQ exceedences from this leak. |
| 109573 2008-09-25 | Point Source(s): Tanks #957, 991, 791, 792 Pollutant(s):Natural Gas - BRQ Octene - BRQ C10-11 aldehyde - BRQ Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket Leaking emergency hatch on tank #791, 792, 957, 991. | Leaking emergency hatch on tanks 791, 792, 957, and 991. Leak rate was approximately 100 PPH per tank. They were trying to get them fixed. A copy of the written report dated 3/17/09 was faxed to LDEQ. Report said no RQs were exceeded during this release. |
| 109484 2008-09-23 | Point Source(s): Storage tank Pollutant(s):Isoprene - 100 pounds 1,3 Pentadiene - 191 pounds Flammables - 3,139 pounds Butadiene - 36 pounds Benzene - 548 pounds | Cause of Problem: Process Upset The cause of the release was pressure in the feed tanks at the Waste water improvement unit. | A storage tank vented for 16 m. The cause of the release was pressure in the feed tanks at the waste water improvement (WILA) unit exceeded the vacuum vent setting for 14 m. The light material entered the flare knock out drum at the Olefins unit through a safety valve bypass which was left open inadvertently during the start up after Gustav. Manual error is the root cause. LDEQ said they would take this up at the next inspection. Exxon's written report was received on 10/6/08. |
| 109408 2008-09-20 | Point Source(s): Benzene fractionator reflux pump P-160B at the aromatics unit Pollutant(s):Benzene - 19 pounds | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure P-160B caught fire due to thrust bearing failure. The cause of the pump failure is unknown. | A pump fire occurred in the aromatics plant. The benzene fractionator reflux pump caught fire due to thrust beating failure. Blocked the upstream valve and fire was put out. The cause of the pump failure was not known. The pump was repaired and put back into service. RQ for benzene exceeded. |
| 109352 2008-09-19 | Point Source(s): Caustic scrubber Pollutant(s): - BRQ - 10 pounds | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing | Caustic scrubber leaked liquid on to pad and butadiene got evaporated. Exxon's report says no RQs were exceeded. |
| 109342 2008-09-19 | Point Source(s): Ethylene Unit Pollutant(s):Ethylene - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Maintenance/Procedures | Planned flaring due to the start up of the ethylene unit. Report says no RQ exceedences from this incident occurred. |
| 109283 2008-09-17 | Point Source(s): EPLA West Unit Pollutant(s):Ethylene - 0 Propylene - 0 Methane - 0 Ethylene - 0 | Cause of Problem: Maintenance/Procedures ExxonMobil is starting up the EPLA West Unit. | Says this is permitted activity. Exxon was starting up their EPLA West ethylene unit on 9.17/08. They said flaring may occur through midday 9/18/08. No other information given. |
| 109311 2008-09-17 | Point Source(s): Storage tank #8 in WILA Tank 8 Tank 9 Pollutant(s): - 40 pounds - 48 pounds - 4,029 pounds - 0 - 0 | Cause of Problem: Process Upset | Storage tank 8 in WILA vented from unit upset. Pressure vacuum setting on feed tanks in the WILA unit exceeded for 10 min and released the listed chemicals. Several units that feed into WILA were on start up mode after hurricane Gustav. Communication between units if being reinforced. |
| 108841 2008-09-09 | Point Source(s): RGR Unit Pollutant(s): - BRQ - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Maintenance/Procedures | RGR Unit start up. Believed that flaring would occur throughout the night. Due to hurricane Gustav the flaring during RGR start up was extensive and a variation was obtained. Report says no RQs exceeded from this flaring. |
| 108484 2008-09-01 | Point Source(s): No Information Given Pollutant(s): - 0 | Cause of Problem: Weather | Due to the hurricane they were experiencing heavy flaring with visible smoke. They said they will keep the state police advised. Just SPOC report. |
| 109662 2008-09-01 | Point Source(s): Weather Pollutant(s):Unknown Substance - 0 Smoke - 0 | Cause of Problem: Weather Due to the hurricane they are experiencing heavy flaring with visible smoke. | |
| 109655 2008-09-01 | Point Source(s): Flare Storage Tank Advanced Wastewater Treatment Unit Pollutant(s):Nitrogen Oxide - 1,342 pounds Nitrogen Dioxide - 149 pounds Benzene - 88 pounds 1,3-Butadiene - 79 pounds Ethylene - 1,169 pounds Propylene - 6,915 pounds Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - 12,612 pounds Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - 5,054 pounds Benzene - 166 pounds Cumene - 13 pounds n-Hexane - 406 pounds Styrene - 19 pounds Toluene - 23 pounds Xylene - 13 pounds Methyl Ethyl Ketone - 2 pounds Wastewater - 1,300 gallons | Cause of Problem: Power Failure BRCP Flaring During Shutdown: On September 1, the Baton Rouge Chemical Plant began to safely shutdown operations due to power failures associated with Hurricane Gustav. During shutdown, excess gases were vented to the flare system in order to reduce emissions to the atmosphere. Baton Rouge Turbine Generator NOx steam trip: ExxonMobil experienced difficulty providing NOx suppression steam for our BRTG. Condensate is required to desuperheat the NOx suppression steam prior to using it in the BRTG. The normal condensate supply from operating units to provide desuperheater water is unavailable as these units are down. Temporary demin trailers were used to help provide an interim source of condensate to mitigate the loss of NOx suppression steam, but were unable to continuously supply the condensate for NOx steam to BRTG. Nitrogen blanketing for tanks on vapor recovery: The lack of nitrogen availability has also created a temporary loss of nitrogen blanketing for storage tanks on vapor recovery. Loss of nitrogen blanketing means that air will be pulled into the tank which is unacceptable from a hazard risk standpoint. The tanks without nitrogen blanketing must be blocked away from vapor recovery because it is unsafe to vent oxygen to a fuel gas or flare gas system due to the potential of creating an explosive mixture. Exxon shut down the vapor recovery controls when the site lost nitrogen. Once nitrogen is restored, Exxon will restart vapor recovery systems. Once normal operations are resumed, Exxon will report total excess emissions and duration of vapor recovery outages for affected tanks. Two hatches found open: Two tank hatches were found open after the hurricane was over. These tank hatches were blown open when wind speeds were highest (>90 mph) during the hurricane. Tank hatches must remain closed to prevent emissions; as such, these incidents are considered bypassing of a control device. The estimated emissions from these open tank hatches are below RQ amounts. AWT overflow to Monte Sano Bayou: The separator at the Advanced Wastewater Treatment unit overflowed to the Monte Sano Bayou. The incident occurred when the pumps lost power and could not pump down the level in the separator. Approximately 1300 gallons of untreated wastewater was discharged in to the bayou. Power to the pumps was restored and the level in the separator was pumped down to stop the overflow to the bayou. The composition of the discharged wastewater is unknown at this time due to a disruption in laboratory samples as a result of the hurricane. | BRCP was shutdown due to hurricane Gustav. |
| 109663 2008-09-01 | Point Source(s): Weather Pollutant(s):Nitrogen Oxide - 1,000 pounds | Cause of Problem: Weather Due to hurricane Gustav they lost a Nitrogen Oxides suppression steam to high temperature setting. | They are continuing to operate until they can re-start the unit. Over 1000 pounds of nitrogen oxides were released. |
| 109677 2008-09-01 | Point Source(s): Weather Pollutant(s):Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - 3,800 pounds Benzene - 23 pounds Hexane - 584 pounds Toluene - 2 pounds Cumene - 1 pounds Ethylbenzene - 1 pounds Styrene - 1 pounds Xylene - 1 pounds | Cause of Problem: Power Failure As a result of Hurricane Gustav the Baton Rouge Resins Finishing Plant (BRFP) experienced significant facility damage and power interruptions that required operations to safely shutdown. Hurricane Gustav is clearly considered an "act of god." The Baton Rouge Resin Finishing Plant only had generators for electrical power to maintain a small number of instruments and critical pumps. There was no power available for the compressors that collect vent gases from storage tanks and route them to the site's flare. The seal leg on the flare seal drum prevented the relatively small breathing losses from reaching the flare for combustion. The flare pilots were extinguished during the storm but we have established the ability to relight it. However due to natural gas supply availability and the inability to route the vent streams to the flare tip we elected to allow the flare pilots to remain unlit until we restored power to the vapor recovery compressors. Power was restored to BRFP at 230 pm on 9/6/08 and the flare pilots were relit. All tanks that were venting to the atmosphere were routed to the flare. | BRFP was safely and systematically shutdown due to hurricane Gustav. Learning from this event will be incorporated into future hurricane preparations. BRFP was unable to complete some of the timing obligations due to Hurricane Gustav. It has prevented from meeting all the timing obligations of the required September monitoring. At the time the primary focus of mechanical resources was on storm related repairs to enable safe startup of unit operations. The plant was to accomplish the LDAR monitoring within the next 60 days. In addition, the availability of parts is also a difficult logistics problem so the focus was on their resources toward startup. BRFP was safely and systematically shutdown due to Hurricane Gustav. Learnings from this event will be incorporated into future hurricane preparations. . |
| 108463 2008-08-31 | Point Source(s): None Reported Pollutant(s): | Cause of Problem: Weather Due to Hurricane Gustav, the production was shut down and incinerator treatment was down. | Due to Hurricane Gustav the production was shut down at 7 am on 8/30/08 and the incinerator treatment down at 7 am on 8/31/08. No mention of any release. |
| 107618 2008-07-30 | Point Source(s): Heat exchanger LE-01 at OLA-2X No information given. Pollutant(s):Benzene - 317 pounds Toluene - 330 pounds Napthalene - 139 pounds Benzene - 0 Toluene - 0 Napthalene - 0 | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing Leakage occurred from a heat exchanger LE-01 at OLA-2X to the cooling water tower GFLA-1. | 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. |
| 107422 2008-07-22 | Point Source(s): Tanks # 8 and 9 Hydrocarbon recovery system, tanks 8 and 9 Hydrocarbon recovery system, tanks 8 and 10 Hydrocarbon recovery system, tanks 8 and 11 Pollutant(s):Benzene - 23 pounds 1,3-Butadiene - 44 pounds Benzene - 0 1,3-Butadiene - 0 Flammable Vapor - 0 | Cause of Problem: Process Upset Pressure vacuum vent for hydrocarbon recovery on storage tanks #8 and 9 exceeded for one minute. During transfer of material to storage tanks the pressure exceeded the pressure vacuum setting and VOC's were released. | Pressure vacuum vent for hydrocarbon recovery on storage tanks 8 and 9 exceeded for 1 m. Two other events occurred within 24 hours of this event and will be addressed seperately. During transfer of material to storage tanks 8 and 9 at the WILA (wastewater improvement unit) the pressure exceeded the pressure vacuum setting and VOCs were released. The operations personnel immediately stopped pumping the material until the overpressure situation was resolved. They were investigating the source of volatile material in the WW. RQ exceeded for benzene and 1,3-butadiene. |
| 107433 2008-07-22 | Point Source(s): H furnace Pollutant(s):Flammable Gas - 4,950 pounds Hydrogen - 18 pounds Carbon Monoxide - 1 pounds Methane - 368 pounds Acetylene - 7 pounds Ethylene - 662 pounds Ethane - 126 pounds Methyl Acetylene - 9 pounds Propylene - 451 pounds Propane - 20 pounds Butadiene - 138 pounds 1-Butene - 59 pounds T-butene2 - 30 pounds Isobutylene - 77 pounds Butane - 2 pounds Isobutane - 1 pounds Isoprene - 30 Benzene - 143 Toluene - 92 Ethylbenzene - 9 Carbon Dioxide - 3 Propadiene - 5 Hydrogen Sulfide - 4 Styrene - 12 Napthalene - 1 Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons - 0 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - 369 | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing 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. | 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. |
| 107421 2008-07-21 | Point Source(s): Flare #25 Pollutant(s):Ethylene - 662 pounds Propylene - 451 pounds Butadiene - 182 pounds Benzene - 167 pounds Nitric Oxide - 0 Sulfur Dioxide - 1,390 pounds | Cause of Problem: Instrument Failure Due to an unknown cause, the compressor in the SACC unit failed and reduced the pressure on the system by flaring. The charge gas compressor in the Olefins unit shut down when several processing cards in the gas turbine control system failed. Four of the seven furnaces shut down immediately and gas from them were evacuated to the flare. The high rate flow caused #25 flare to smoke. The H furnace was starting up a leak developed in the convection section and uncombusted VOCs were released to air. It was believed a pinhole leak developed during steaming of furnace. | The failed cards were replaced and the unit began operation. There was a complaint about black smoke that was coming from flare for about an hour, and ongoing flare. Steam was introduced into the furnaces to displace VOCs to reduce flaring emissions. The failed cards were replaced and the unit began operation. The flaring during start up were permitted emissions. |
| 107027 2008-07-07 | Point Source(s): Flange Pollutant(s):Hydrogen - 0 Flammable Gas - 0 | Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket They have a blind flange leaking hydrogen and flammable gases. | At time of report they tried to tighten the flange, but the leak continued. |
| 107009 2008-07-07 | Point Source(s): Reactor Pollutant(s):Hydrocarbon - 0 | Cause of Problem: Maintenance/Procedures release occurred while depressurizing a reactor. | Advised of a release of hydrocarbons. Amount of hydrocarbon gas released was unknown at time of report. |
| 106838 2008-06-29 | Point Source(s): Tanks 8 and 9 Pollutant(s):Benzene - 123 pounds Butadiene - 244 pounds Flammables - 1,050 pounds | Cause of Problem: Process Upset The pressure feed tanks at the Waste water improvement unit exceeded vacuum setting and released hydrocarbon vapors to relieve the pressure. The cause is the material from the olefins unit flare knock out drum. | It was unexpected that this material will impact the WWIU. |
| 106824 2008-06-28 | Point Source(s): insulated line Pollutant(s): - 319 pounds - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing Experienced a spill from an insulated line. The line has been isolated. Product spilled to the ground | They isolated the line to stop the leak. |
| 106837 2008-06-28 | Point Source(s): Tank Pollutant(s):styrene monomer - 900 pounds Ethylbenzene - 250 pounds | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure Styrene monomer tank experienced a roof failure, cause undetermined. The tank was in the process of being de-inventoried and transfer to another tank remains underway. During transfer of crude styrene from one storage tank to another the roof of storage tank MV-816 failed. | They have begun an air monitoring plan, testing for Styrene and LEL. Slight odor at the tank but nothing detected outside fence line. They do not believe any RQ were exceeded. |
| 106776 2008-06-27 | Point Source(s): control system on gas driven turbine driver Pollutant(s): - 264 pounds - 274 pounds - 2,658 pounds - 862 pounds - 1,267 pounds | Cause of Problem: Instrument Failure On 6/27/08 the charge gas compressor at the Olefins Unit shut down due to a control system failure of the gas driven turbine driver. Five furnaces automatically shut down and gas was routed to the f | First they cooled dow the furnace to shut down the unit. Repairs were made to the control system and restarted. Flaring occurred during startup. |
| 106654 2008-06-24 | Point Source(s): flange on T2 Pollutant(s):Propane - 1,000 pounds | Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket They had a gasket blow out on a flange on T2 overhead. | They are tightening down on the flange. Over 1000 pounds of propane released. |
| 106514 2008-06-17 | Point Source(s): None Reported Pollutant(s): | Cause of Problem: Start Up, Shut Down shutting down Acid 1 unit, will bring back up later in afternoon. | No additional information given. |
| 106447 2008-06-16 | Point Source(s): flare compressor Pollutant(s): - 700 pounds - 0 | Cause of Problem: Process Upset They have compressor trip. All the gas went to the flare. The unit is being depressured. | Event was ongoing. |
| 106450 2008-06-16 | Point Source(s): sample cylinder Pollutant(s): - 11 pounds | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure They discovered a leaking sample cylinder in their lab. | No RQ exceedance from the leak, originally stated that 11 lbs butadiene leaked out. The discrepancy had to be addressed at the next inspection. |
| 106067 2008-06-02 | Point Source(s): Flare Pollutant(s):Propylene - 0 | Cause of Problem: Start Up, Shut Down Flaring propylene during unit start up. | No RQ exceedance from event. |
| 106066 2008-06-01 | Point Source(s): flare Pollutant(s):Propylene - 0 | Cause of Problem: Start Up, Shut Down Starting up an unit and depressurized to the flare. | No RQ exceedance from this flaring. |
| 106068 2008-06-01 | Point Source(s): flange on exchanger Pollutant(s):Propylene - 672 pounds | Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket A flange leaked on an exchanger during start up operation of a unit. | No additional information given. |
| 106062 2008-05-31 | Point Source(s): vent on knockout drum Pollutant(s): - 268 pounds | Cause of Problem: No Information Given Experienced a vent opening on a knockout drum. | No additional information given. |
| 105931 2008-05-25 | Point Source(s): Line leak on Carbon scrubber tower Pollutant(s): - 4,610 pounds | Cause of Problem: Corrosion Internal corrosion was the cause of the leak | Will exceed over one thousand pounds per hour. Shut down the unit and depressurized to stop leak. Leaking portion of the line was replaced. |
| 105623 2008-05-14 | Point Source(s): Safety valve Pollutant(s): - 880 pounds - 1,295 pounds - 10 pounds | Cause of Problem: Process Upset Safety valve released into vent stacks causing a fire. Unknown what the chemical is. | The valve was blocked away from the vent stack at 625pm. |
| 105555 2008-05-13 | Point Source(s): tower Pollutant(s): - 50 pounds | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure On a tower control valve station the bypass valve packing blew out. | Tower was shut down to take pressure off and secure it. Replaced bypass valve. |
| 105242 2008-04-30 | Point Source(s): de-coke drum Pollutant(s): - 0 - 0 - 0 | Cause of Problem: Under Investigation 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. | No additional information given. |
| 105211 2008-04-29 | Point Source(s): line leak at flange Pollutant(s): - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing They had a line that has leaked at a flange and is causing the release. They are isolating the line to stop the leak. | Benzene was released at .67 lbs/hr. Butadiene was released at .11 lbs/hr. Hydrocarbon gas was released at 18.77 lbs/hr. Styrene Monomer was released at 50.41 lbs/hr. Ethylbenzene was released at 30.16 lbs/hr. Toluene was released at 120.66 lbs/hr. |
| 105098 2008-04-25 | Point Source(s): stripping tower Pollutant(s):Decyl alcohol - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure mechanical failure on stripping tower resulted in release of decyl alcohol. | No information given |
| 105082 2008-04-25 | Point Source(s): reactor head Pollutant(s): - 146 pounds | Cause of Problem: No Information Given Advised of leak of "SYNTAS" on reactor head doing shut down. | Previous report estimated the hole as 1/4" and calculated release of 2331 lbs syngas. However further investigation revealed that the size of the hole was 1/16" and released 146 lbs syngas. |
| 105096 2008-04-25 | Point Source(s): stripping tower Pollutant(s): - BRQ | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure Mechanical failure on stripping tower resulted in release of decyl alcohol | No reportable quantities were exceeded. No additional information given. |
| 105023 2008-04-22 | Point Source(s): Flare Pollutant(s):Sulfur Dioxide - 700 pounds | Cause of Problem: Process Upset ExxonMobil had an upset on the hydrocarbon unit. They had to shut down a compressor. The gas from the compressor was sent to the flare. | Delay in notification because they didn’t get the data until the afternoon. No additional information given. Material did go offsite. Related to 104990. See comments under that incident. |
| 104990 2008-04-22 | Point Source(s): Flare Pollutant(s):Nitrogen Oxide - 11 pounds | Cause of Problem: Start Up, Shut Down Flaring episode that occurred at the startup of a unit, when a vessel overpressured and vented to the flare. No specific cause why the vessel overpressured, other than it exceeded its vent pressure | No additional information given. Linked to 105023. LABB only has initial notification made to SPOC no subsequent facility letter or LDEQ report. |
| 104910 2008-04-21 | Point Source(s): D-furnace tube leak in NACC unit Pollutant(s):Nitrogen Oxide - 47 pounds | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing D-Furnace tube leak in the NACC unit of the plant. | Leak is ongoing at time of report. They are in the process of putting the water in the pass now. If this doesn’t work, they will bring the furnace down. It is above RQ only for State Police and not for LDEQ. Feed was stoppped and tube will be repaired during down time. |
| 104822 2008-04-16 | Point Source(s): Reactor (R1C) Pollutant(s):Carbon Monoxide - 0 | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure A reactor (R1C) has a "bamer blind" leak. | Incident was ongoing. Attempting repair at time of report. Feel they will exceed RQ at time of report. |
| 104714 2008-04-12 | Point Source(s): compressor Pollutant(s):Benzene - 41 pounds Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - 107 pounds | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure Fire developed on a compressor C-500 B associated with the Aromatics Unit. Cause of the fire was mechanical failure of the compressor which controls the vapors from storage tanks in the Aromatics Unit. | As a result of the compressor shut down, the fire vapors from the tanks went to the air. Vacuum jets were turned on to control these tanks emissions. Concentrations of 7 ppm of Benzene were detected 10 ft downwind from the compressor after the fire was out. Hot zone was established as called for. Hydrocarbons were blocked off from the compressor to prevent further ignition. |
| 104364 2008-03-30 | Point Source(s): ECE 22 Pollutant(s):Carbon Monoxide - 0 | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure Valve packing bleq out on E C E 22 on the neo acids unit. | Monitoring the situation closely and spraying water on it. They feel the amount will exceed the RQ of 1000 lbs. |
| 104297 2008-03-28 | Point Source(s): drum at NACC Pollutant(s):Nitrogen Oxide - 9 pounds | Cause of Problem: No Information Given They had a drum at NACC that had a pressure build up that was vented to the flare. This produced Nitrogen Oxides to the air from the flare. | Incident is secured. . |
| 104123 2008-03-23 | Point Source(s): Furnace tube Pollutant(s):Ethane - 0 | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing A tube inside a furnace ruptured and allowed the leak. | The furnace consumed the product. Once the pressure was noticed to be dropping, everything was shut down. |
| 104053 2008-03-19 | Point Source(s): flare Pollutant(s):Nitrogen Oxide - 0 | Cause of Problem: Process Upset A flare gas compressor tripped. This in turn caused flaring. | Not a reportable incident as it is covered under permit but was a reportable to state police as Nox exceeded their RQ of 10 lbs. |
| 104041 2008-03-19 | Point Source(s): #16 flare Pollutant(s):Flammable Gas - 1,300 pounds 1,3-Butadiene - 72 pounds | Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure #16 flare went out due to electrical issues. Product went to the flare but as it was out, went to atmosphere. | They relit the flare after power was re-established |
| 104042 2008-03-18 | Point Source(s): Flare Pollutant(s):Nitrogen Oxide - 70 pounds Ethylene - 250 pounds | Cause of Problem: Process Upset They lost an analog output card on a control system Off spec. Gasses went tot flare. Control valves and their by pass cause the system to go off spec. This caused them to flare the materials. | The release is ongoing until they can bring things back on line. Materials released will be tracked against 5 yr rolling average for the Sp. Condition. Amount of nitrogen oxide released is over 70 pounds. |
| 103979 2008-03-17 | Point Source(s): Furnace Pollutant(s):Nitrogen Oxide - 0 | Cause of Problem: Piping or Tubing They have a furnace tube with a pinhole leak. | They will try to let it coke up. They do have other furnaces with problems and this may put them over the 10 lb RQ. The amount of Nitrogen oxides released is under 10 pounds. |
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