LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

Motiva Enterprises, LLC, Norco

Releases of Toluene

LDEQ Incident Number Incident Date	Point Source(s)	Notes	Amount of Release
81012 2005-08-04	RCCU Flare (EPN #8-84), West Operations Ground Flare (WOGF- EPN 9-84)	Cause: maintenance was turning a blind when contents from the line started spraying; flaring occurred following the event Followup: Yes Notes: Under further investigation; no flare smoking occurred during this incident; remedial measures: vacuum trucks were deployed to try to capture the Oil in the RCCU drainage system, additional adjustments made to minimize the forward flow into the main fractionator column while isolations were made to the slurry system	0
80785 2005-07-25	West Ops Ground Flare (EPN #9-84)	Cause: indicators of the status of operations were out of service for maintenance and inspection; production of off specification product led to flaring Followup: No Notes: called in by telephone on 07 25 by Shell Chemical. Remedial actions: Material was flared at the West Ops Ground flare. Motiva maintains they were not in control of the incident and that a follow up letter was sent by Shell Chemical	1.0 pounds
78205 2005-04-13	RCCU Flare (EPN #8-84)	Cause: No information given Followup: Yes Notes: no listed remedial actions
91490 2006-10-18	West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84)	Cause: unexpected shut down of a steam boiler Followup: No Notes: No remedial actions, the incident was not under the control of Motiva
91094 2006-10-03	West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84)	Cause: upset at GO-1 process unit Followup: No Notes: No remedial actions, the incident was not under the control of Motiva
90114 2006-08-20	West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84)	Cause: upset at GO-1 process unit. Unit experiences exchanger leak Followup: No Notes: No remedial actions, the incident was not under the control of Motiva	82.0 pounds
89783 2006-08-06	West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84)	Cause: upset at GO-1 process unit Followup: No Notes: No remedial actions, the incident was not under the control of Motiva
89388 2006-07-19	West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84)	Cause: upset at GO-1 process unit caused by a STORM Followup: No Notes: Lightning strike caused several instruments to malfunction leading to upset
88507 2006-06-10	West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84)	Cause: unexpected shutdown of process gas compressor Followup: No Notes: No remedial actions, the incident was not under the control of Motiva	6.0 pounds
88170 2006-05-26	GO-1 Process Unit ; West Ops Ground Flare (EPN 9-84)	Cause: pipe leak on line at the base of a process vessel Followup: No Notes: Measures adopted by Shell will be addresssed in a Shell letter	1.0 pounds
87231 2006-04-17	West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84)	Cause: upset at GO-1 process unit due to a power outage Followup: No Notes: No remedial actions, the incident was not under the control of Motiva
85967 2007-07-05	DU-5 Unit	Cause: piping failure on the crude column overhead line results in leak Followup: No Notes: Overhead piping will be replaced during next unit turnaround in October 2006	1,266.0 pounds
125564 2010-08-10	DU-5 Naptha Stripper Reboiler [E-1004]	Cause: A leak in the weld of a pipping elbow of the DU-5 Naptha Stripper Reboiler caused by internal corrosion on the reboiler. Followup: Yes Notes: RQ. Reportable quantities were exceeded for 8 chemicals including Ethane, Methane, Toulene, and n-Hexane. Refinery report states that "immediately following discovery of the leak, the site's emergency response team was activated and the naphtha stripper was blocked in and depressurized."	22.4 pounds
125532 2010-08-09	FLARE: HCU elevated flare (EPN 4-84)	Cause: The HCU elevated flare (EPN 4-84) released Benzene, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, toluene, and VOC due to a faulty regulator and an orifice tee which was incorrectly installed by the manufacturer and also a faulty nitrogen regulator supplying the system. SECONDARY CAUSE: noted as equipment failure. FLARE. Followup: No Notes: RQ. Refinery later states that reportable quantities were exceeded for benzene. Both the relief valve and the nitrogen regulator were removed from service and repaired. When repaired, they were reinstalled and returned to service.
124892 2010-07-16	FLARE: Hydrocracker Unit - relief valve	Cause: Report states that a relief valve on the hydrocracker unit failed causing the release. Valve was found to be improperly assembled by the manufacturer... Followup: No Notes: BRQ. Report states that "the valve was repaired on site by Motiva technicians and put back in service. No reportable quantities were exceeded as a result of this release."
124186 2010-06-15	Wharf Berth 1: high sulfur light product line	Cause: LDEQ report states, "Motiva reported a leaking high sulfur light product line at the wharf that released approximately six barrels of naptha to the Mississippi River. Leak was caused by external corrosion, and two contributing factors were identified. First, the line was found to be in contact with the insulation of adjacent piping, causing water accumulation between the lines. Additionally, inadequate coating was discovered on the blistered section of piping." A total of 1,748 pounds of chemicals were released to the air. Followup: No Notes: RQ. LDEQ report states that "Motiva took the following measures to prevent reoccurrence of this incident: the blistered section of piping will be replaced so it does not contact near-by equipment and the new line will be adequately coated to protect from external corrosion. Motiva has determined that the release was preventable. This incident is an area of concern with regards to LAC 33:III.905 and LAC 33:IX.501.D."	95.0 pounds
123327 2010-05-08	FLARE: HCU elevated Flare (EPN-4-84)	Cause: "Motiva CR-2 recycle gas compressor (K-2057) tripped due to an expected high level in the CR-2 product separator vessel, which subsequently tripped the CR-2 process unit. A sudden increase in the level in the CR-2 product separator occurred while Motiva operators were placing exchangers (E-1243/44/45) back in service." This subsequently caused the HCU elevated Flare (EPN-4-84) to release naphtha-cyclohexane, ethylbenzene, napthalene,hydrotreated heavy naphtha, hexane, toluene, xylene. FLARE. Followup: Yes Notes: BRQ. The refinery letter states that no reportable quantities were exceeded during this incident.
123043 2010-04-25	FLARE - HCU elevated flare	Cause: FLARE. FIRE. Power failure caused rapid shutdown of Hydrocracking Unit due to a valve failure. Moisture had accumulated causing corrosion on the wiring and connections. During troubleshooting, hydroprocessing exchanger E-1057 bottom head caught fire. Fire extinguished with water, no injuries. Followup: No Notes: BRQ. No RQs exceeded but did exceed max lb per hour permit limit for SO2. Process unit restarted and conditions returned to normal. Wiring, connector block, and seal repaired to prevent moisture from causing further corrosion.
133050 2011-08-05	Hydrocrakcer unit	Cause: The Hydrocracker unit shutdown due to an electrical failure of the motor on P-1940, the charge pump of the 2nd stage of the Hydrocracker Unit. EPN 4-84 and FE-301 Followup: Yes Notes: Operations shutdown and secured the 1st and 2nd stages of the Hydrocracker. A temporary onsite replacement motor for P-1940 was used to restore power to the motor control center to support HCU restart.	6.7 pounds
132264 2011-07-08	9-84 (West Operations Ground Flare, FG-201)	Cause: On July 8, 2011 Shell Chemical's GO-1 Process Unit experienced a unit upset due to issues with re-boilers. This process upset led to flaring at the Motiva's West Operations Ground Flare (EPN 9-84). Followup: No Notes: The Go-1 Process unit was safely returned to normal operating conditions. Corrective actions to prevent reoccurrence will be addressed in a separate letter from Shell Chemical.	2.0 pounds
129817 2011-03-11	GO-1 Elevated Flare (EPN1-90)	Cause: Faulty Positioner ina control valve caused high levels in a suction drum. This caused the PGC to shutdown. The control valve was tested and returned to service. On March 11, 2011, the Process Gas Compressor (PGC) shutdown due to a high level indication in the fourth stage suction drum. The PGC is designed to shutdown under this condition to protect the compressor. Flaring occurred at the GO-1 Elevated Flare (EPN1-90) as a result of the PGC shutdown. Additional flaring as a result of this upset also occurred at Motiva's West Operation Ground Flare and will be addressed in a separate letter. Followup: No Notes: The PGC was checked and secured by operations. Feed reductions to the unit were made to minimize flaring while repairs to the PGC were made. After investigating the system, a faulty positioner in a control valve was identified as the cause of the high level in the suction drum that led to the PGC shutdown. Maintenance personnel replaced the positioner and the control valve was tested and placed back in service. The PGC was safely returned to normal operating conditions. Once the GO-1 Process Unit was returned to normal operating conditions the flaring was stopped. An alarm point will be installed to give operations an indication that the control valve is not functioning properly and allow for maintenance inspection prior to failure.	264.8 pounds
140882 2012-06-28	Shell Chemical's GO-1 Elevated Flare and Motiva West Operations Ground Flare	Cause: There was an unexpected loss of a boiler, causing a steam load shed, causing a unit shutdown, which caused the flaring. There was flaring at both Shell Chemical's GO-1 Elevated Flare and Motiva West Operations Ground Flare. Followup: Yes Notes: No information given.
138076 2012-03-18	Pressure vessel PV-122	Cause: The pressure vessel PV-122 was inadvertently overfilled during refilling, and liquid was released from the vent on top of the pressure vessel. Followup: Yes Notes: All material released was contained within the concrete containment dike. Once the release was realized, flow to the vessel was isolated, the inlet valve on the pressure vessel was closed, and the area was secured. A pumper truck was staged at the pressure vessel to remove the hydrocarbons from the containment area. Once all liquid hydrocarbons had been removed from the containment area, the area was washed with water to a pumper truck to remove residual hydrocarbons.