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Phillips 66 (2418), Belle Chasse

Releases of Gasoline

LDEQ Accident Number
Accident Date		 Point Source(s) Notes Amount of Release
144765

2012-11-17		Dock 1 loading line
Cause: A very small dripping leak was discovered on loading Dock 1 on the gasoline loading line. The line that leaked was not in use for any vessel loading, but it was pressured up as gasoline was being loaded onto a vessel at Dock 2. Upon discovery of the leak, the Dock 1 line was isolated from the refinery system supplying the Dock 2 loading, and the visual rate observed was 1 drop per second. The worse case duration would be 150 minutes. After calculations, the estimated volume of the release is .12 gallons. On 11/19/12, leakage was observed dripping from the clamped area. Given that the line remained isolated, Monday's leak was caused by thermal expansion of the product in the blocked in section of the loading line. Operators reduced the pressure on the pipe and the leak stopped; this process has continued to prevent any other leakage. A hanging scaffold was erected to allow placement of a containment under the clamped area. The leak rate observed was variable, but estimated as .5 gallons per hour and the duration was 35 minutes; therefore the total spill volume is less than 1 gallon. The leak was a result of external corrosion on the bottom of the Dock 1 loading line.

Followup: No

Notes: An engineered, permanent clamp will be installed by 11/26/12. Future mechanical integrity assessments of over water piping will also employ a boat to allow better inspection of the bottom of the piping. Less than a gallon of gasoline was released.		1.0 gallons
No LDEQ Reported

2013-03-25		Product Dock 1
Cause: On Tuesday, March 26, 2013, the operator on Dock 1 observed a sheen and the investigation of the sheen led to the discovery of a very small dripping leak on the gasoline loading line for Dock 1. The leak was off an engineered clamp on the gasoline loading line that had been installed following a previous leak on November 17, 2012. The line that leaked was not in use for any vessel loading, but it was pressured up as gasoline was being loaded onto a vessel at Dock 2. The leak rate observed was 4 drops per minute. The Dock 2 loading commenced at 11:15PM on March 25, so the worse case duration would be 580 minutes (9 hours, 40 minutes). Assuming an average drop volume of 0.05ml, the estimated volume is 0.03 gallons.

Followup: No

Notes: Upon discovery of the leak, the gasoline loading at Dock 2 was stopped, and the visual leaking ceased. The Dock 1 line was then isolated from the refinery system supplying the Dock 2 loading; as an additional precaution, a temporary containment was placed under leak area. Once the Dock 1 isolation was confirmed and the clamp was verified as no longer leaking, loading operations resumed on Dock 2. The clamp was re-pumped with sealant, and the line remains isolated pending further investigation.		0.0 gallons