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Formosa Plastics (288), Baton Rouge

Releases in 2007

LDEQ Accident Number
Accident Date
Point Source/Release CauseNotes
101325

2007-11-28
Point Source(s):
Vinyl column

Pollutant(s):
Vinyl Chloride - BRQ
Cause of Problem: Process Upset

Upset in the vinyl column which caused the incinerator to trip and the three hour average of VCM from the stak exceeded (170 ppm reading in the stack monitor).
Release secured at this time. Release was less than reportable quantity.
101090

2007-11-15
Point Source(s):
Natural gas header release valve

Pollutant(s):
Natural Gas - 1,584 pounds
Cause of Problem: No Information Given

Overpressure on natural gas header caused the relief valve to lift. 1584 lb natural gas was released.
No information given. http://www.trussville.com/3028.pdf
100744

2007-11-02
Point Source(s):
Flange on NC-204

Pollutant(s):
Vinyl Chloride - BRQ
Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket

Leak was coming from a flange on NC-204 Vinyl Stripper Column. Report was received on 11/14/07 (12 days later)and the RQ was not reached (1 lb).
Secured within 5 minutes of discovery.
99995

2007-10-05
Point Source(s):
a vessel

Pollutant(s):
Vinyl Chloride - 5,815 pounds
Cause of Problem: Equipment Failure

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.
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.
97778

2007-07-11
Point Source(s):
N/A

Pollutant(s):
Vinyl Chloride - 10 pounds
Cause of Problem: Human Factors

The released was caused by operator error when a valve on the discharge filter was opened.
The valve was closed to stop the release of slurry, and administrative action was planned for the procedural deviation. Release >RQ of VCM. Closed the valve right away. Follow up was an Inspection/Referral on 8/14/07.
95914

2007-05-04
Point Source(s):
No information given

Pollutant(s):
Stormwater - 0
Cause of Problem: Weather

Excessive rains caused a storm water overflow of containment berms.
The refinery sampled the stormwater for pH, oil and grease, and total organic carbon. The pH of the overflow was 9.2, and the rest of the test results had not yet been received at the time of the written report. Amount of stormwater released is unknown.
95169

2007-04-09
Point Source(s):
N/A

Pollutant(s):
Vinyl Chloride - 1,428 pounds
Cause of Problem: Human Factors

Operations inadvertently isolated the relief valve during the transfer of vinyl chloride, resulting in hydrostatic pressure buildup at the filter and subsequent rupture of the O-ring.
The filter was isolated and purged to a closed system using nitrogen. Follow-up report states that RVs will be installed before/after affected equipment, that additional piping modifications would be made as deemed necessary, that SOPs will be reviewed and modified, and that affected personnel will be trained accordingly.
94771

2007-03-19
Point Source(s):
6-inch isolation valve on

Pollutant(s):
Sodium Hydroxide - BRQ
Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket

Formosa was repairing a buried fire water line in the area of the facility that was formerly known as the VCM 1 Unit. As part of the fire water line repair activity, maintenance personnel dug a shallow trench to access a buried pipe. Following digging, liquid was observed in the shallow trench. Near-by storm water sewer line was leaking into the repair trench. Source of the caustic contamination was determined to be from a leaking valve on an upstream caustic header system which drained to this storm sewer.
Formosa is collected and pumped the potentially impacted liquids from the trench for an on-site recovery. Contamination in the trench was recovered and neutralized. The area was blocked in an the job was shut down. Additional excavation was necessary to determine that the source of this leak was a near-by storm water sewer line which was leaking into the repair trench. The source was isolated and the contamination was recovered as much as possible from the sewer system and trench.
93665

2007-02-01
Point Source(s):
NR 301B

Pollutant(s):
Ethylene dichloride - 0
Cause of Problem: Seal or Gasket

Had a leak on NR 301B. Valved out of service. The equipment was completely down at 2300 hours.
Amount of Ethylene dichloride released is unknown.