LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

Placid Refining Co., LLC, Port Allen

Releases in 2012

LDEQ Incident Number Incident Date	Point Source/Release	Notes
137263 2012-02-16	Point Source(s): SRU incinerator #1 Pollutant(s): Sulfur Dioxide - 407 pounds Nitrogen - BRQ Hydrogen - BRQ Carbon Monoxide - BRQ Carbon Dioxide - BRQ Vapor - BRQ Hydrogen Sulfide - BRQ Carbon Disulfide - BRQ Carbonyl Sulfide - BRQ	Cause: A plugged quench tower in TGTU #1 that operated in conjunction with SRU #2 had to be taken out of service for cleaning resulting in a TGTU bypass which caused an increase in SO2 emissions from the SRU incinerator #1 on SRU#3. Followup: No Notes: The maintenance cleaning activity on the plugged Quench Tower was performed quickly as possible and reduced acid gas production by reducing processing unit charge rates and shifting the maximum acid gas load possible to the SRU #3. Operator training is being conducted to prevent the initial incident earlier in the week. Offsite air monitoring occurred throughout the duration of the incident.Additional operator training and any findings or corrective actions that stem from the formal Root Cause Analysis
137233 2012-02-15	Point Source(s): Amines process unit Pollutant(s): Sulfur Dioxide - 3,960 pounds	Cause: A process unit upset caused liquid carryover to the amine treatment unit reducing the H2S scrubbing capacity and a valve was inadvertently left open allowing untreated fuel gas (high H2S) gas to mix with the refinery's fuel gas system. Followup: No Notes: The valve was closed and fresh amine was added to restore treatment capacity
137201 2012-02-14	Point Source(s): SRU #2 Pollutant(s): Sulfur Dioxide - 900 pounds	Cause: The #2 Sulfur Recovery Unit shut down and the product was being incinerated rather than converted. Followup: No Notes: No mention of remedial actions mentioned in the report. The Incident Report from the refinery is missing from the file. No refinery letters.
No LDEQ Number Available 2012-02-03	Point Source(s): Reactor beds in the Sulfur Plant Pollutant(s): Sulfur Dioxide - 3,695 pounds	Cause: The Sulfur Plant was shutdown during the turnaround to replace the catalyst as it was no longer active. Residual sulfur was removed from the reactor beds to prevent the beds from plugging or solidifying. Followup: No Notes: There were no remedial actions since this was a scheduled maintenance activity. There is no LDEQ Report and no SPOC Report attached to this file.
136758 2012-01-27	Point Source(s): Incinerator #1 Pollutant(s): Sulfur Dioxide - 511 pounds Acid gas - 458 pounds	Cause: According to the Inspections Division, "At the time of the incident Placid was in the process of shutting down processing unit operations for turnaround maintenance. The only unit online at the time producing acid gas was the disel hydro treating unit; the Sulfur Plant No.2 shut down unexpectedly. Placid had already shut down Sulfur Plant No.3 and had to send the acid gas stream and the sour water stripper off gas to the flare while restarting Sulfur Plant No.2". Followup: No Notes: Both LDEQ and State Police Report included. At 0319, same day, the acid gas was returned back to the sulfur plant and taken out of the flare, according to both the LDEQ and State Police reports. Placid will check electronic and communication systems to ensure that they are functioning properly and perform general maintenance to the operating equipment. Currently writing a Preventative Maintenance and Operational Plan for the sulfur plants as required by Settlement Tracking No. SA-MM-11-0021. reviewing Standard Operating Procedures SOPs and maintenance schedules to ensure work practices are in place to assist in the minimization of Sulfur recovery Units SRU incidents.
No LDEQ Number Available 2012-01-26	Point Source(s): Reactor beds in the Sulfur Plant Pollutant(s): Sulfur Dioxide - 5,023 pounds	Cause: The Sulfur plant was shutdown during the turnaround to replace the catalyst as it was no longer active. Residual sulfur was removed from the reactor beds to prevent the beds from plugging or solidifying. The statement includes a line that says the catalyst was not being replaced anyways. There is a contradiction. Followup: No Notes: This was a planned shutdown and a variance was issued by LDEQ Office of Environmental Service. There is no LDEQ report and no SPOC report attached to this file.
No LDEQ Number Available 2012-01-19	Point Source(s): SRU #2 Pollutant(s): Sulfur Dioxide - 1,177 pounds	Cause: There was excess SO2 emissions as a result of a plugged quench column. The plugged column was drained frequently to prevent further operational problems but required a temporary bypass of the tail gas treating unit #2 (TGTU 2), which treats gas from the SRU3 and sends it to the Sulfur recovery unit incinerator no. 2 (SRUI2). Followup: No Notes: To minimize excess emissions the maximum load possible was shifted to SRU 2 and acid gas production was reduced, feed to the SRU plants, by reducing FCCU and Diesel Hydro-treating processing rates during this period to minimize the load on SRU3. The column was drained frequently due to the timing of the planned turnaround versus longer TGTU2 outage that would have resulted in more overall SO2 emissions and a reportable quantity exceedance.
136500 2012-01-13	Point Source(s): Tank 15 Pollutant(s): #6 Oil - BRQ Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - 1,000 pounds Hydrogen Sulfide - 10 pounds	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.