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Motiva Enterprises (1406), Norco
Releases of 1,3-Butadiene
| LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date |
Point Source(s) | Notes | Amount of Release |
| 79812 2005-06-14 | Shell Chemical GO-1 Processing Unit, GO-1 elevated flare | Cause: Entergy was in the process of performing a periodic maintenance on relays at the Norco Substation. A relay tip occurred at the Norco Substation unexpectedly. The power outage resulted in the shutdown of two compressors in the Shell Chemical GO-1 Process Unit, resulting in flaring of process gases at the GO-1 Elevated Flare. Followup: Yes Notes: Operations personnel took immediate corrective actions to minimize the level of emissions; process gases were flared at West Op Ground flare until the compressors re-started and the G0-1 process units were back under control; Motiva maintained that the incident was not under their control, rather the control of Shell Chemical and Louisiana Holdings LLP | 3.4 pounds |
| 76671 2005-02-02 | OL-5 Ground Flare, FG-101 | Cause: Level controller on the BD5 Solvent Column was not functioning properly as solvent recovery column was pressuring up. Followup: Yes Notes: Level controller was repaired and returned to service. During the repair there was some flaring. | 7.0 pounds |
| 92925 2006-12-28 | West Ops Ground Flare FG-201 (EPN #9-84) | Cause: Flaring due to an unexpected shutdown of a propylene refrigerant compressor in Shell Chemical's GO-1 Process Unit. Shutdown in Shell Chemical's GO-1 Process Unit was due to a high vibration alarm. The compressor is designed to shutdown when it experiences high vibration to prevent damage to the compressor. Followup: Yes Notes: GO-1 operations immediately restarted the compressor, but the process unit upset resulting from the shutdown led to flaring at the West Operations Ground Flare. GO-1 operations made adjustments to safely return the process unit to normal conditions. Flaring continued as needed until the unit returned to normal conditions. | 63.0 pounds |
| 92470 2006-12-07 | West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84) | Cause: Flaring at West Ops Ground Flare (EPN #9-84) occurred due to a shut down and start up of GO-1 Process Unit to repair a leaking heat exchanger. Followup: No Notes: Letter states that emissions were BRQ. Emission point was from Motiva Norco's flares. However, the root cause of the accident occurred in Shell Chemical Plant. | |
| 91657 2006-10-26 | Cause: Operators discovered a pin hole leak in a finishing butadiene line while conducting air monitoring. Followup: Yes Notes: Upon discovery, a temporary clamp was installed and an order was placed for a permanent clamp. Once permanent clamp was fabricated and delivered, it was installed over the leak. | 4.9 | |
| 91490 2006-10-18 | West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84) | Cause: Shell Chemical's Boiler #7 shutdown unexpectedly due to a tube failure. As a result, several production units has to shutdown to safely stabilize the steam system. The Shell Chemical GO-1 Process Unit had to shutdown the process gas compressor as a result of the boiler shutdown. The shutdown of the process gas compressor resulted in flaring at the Motiva West Operations Ground Flare. Followup: No Notes: Process gases were flared a the West Operation Ground Glare at Motiva until the GO-1 compressor at Shell Chemical was restarted and the processes under control. | 6.0 pounds |
| 91050 2006-10-02 | No iCoker Flare FE-401 (EPN 2-84)nformation given Coker Flare FE-401 (EPN 2-84) | Cause: Flaring resulted from the 3/4" drain line on the case of pump P-1983 breaking off while decon piping was being installed, causing the Coker Unit to be shutdown. Flushing oil was released from the pump casing to secondary containment but there was no release outside of the containment or to soil or water. Followup: Yes Notes: The Coker Unit was shut down and PV-901 depressured to reduce leaking while pump was isolated. Further corrective actions are being reviewed by Motiva Enterprises' legal department. | |
| 90100 2006-08-19 | West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84) | Cause: Incident due to an upset at Shell Chemical's GO-1 process unit. Followup: No Notes: Letter states that no RQ's were exceeded. Little info given regarding cause and duration. | 13.0 pounds |
| 88170 2006-05-26 | West Ops Ground Flare (EPN 9-84) GO-1 Process Unit ; West Ops Ground Flare (EPN 9-84) | Cause: Shell Chemical's GO-1 Process Unit experienced a small pipe leak on a line at the base of a process vessel. The leak developed during an online abrasive blasting job. In order to relieve pressure on this line, operations had to reduce rates at the GO-1 process unit. The reduction of rates caused flaring at Motiva's West Operations Ground Flare (EPN 9-84). Followup: No Notes: Shell Chemical installed a clamp to stop the leak then returned operations to normal conditions. | 23.0 pounds |
| 87231 2006-04-17 | West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84) | Cause: A power outage caused a process upset at the Shell Chemical facility. This resulted in flaring at Motiva's West Operations Ground Flare. Followup: No Notes: No remedial actions; the incident was not under the control of Motiva Enterprises, LLC. | 15.0 pounds |
| 85967 2006-02-21 | DU-5 Unit | Cause: An atmospheric leak of light naphtha gasoline material was identified in Motiva's Distilling unit due to a piping failure on the crude column overhead line. Initially, operations personnel identified the line dripping in two locations, and vaporizing before reaching grade. Followup: Yes Notes: Operations developed a plan to safely remove insulation so that the leak could be stopped. Operations installed barricade tape around affected area and monitored the leak for benzene. A catch tray was fabricated and mounted directly to the crude overhead piping to contain atmospheric emissions while the associated insulation was removed from the crude overhead line. Once the insulation was removed, a pipe clamp was installed to permanently stoped the leak. The overhead piping will be replaced during the next unit turnaround in October 2006. | 6.0 pounds |
| 93359 2007-01-18 | West Ops Ground Flare EPN 9-84 | Cause: Release was due to an upset at Shell Chemical's GO-1 process unit. Followup: Yes Notes: No information given regarding remedial actions. | |
| 115844 2009-06-20 | Coker Flare | Cause: There was an operational upset with the wet gas compressor at the Coker Fractionator that resulted in the opening of the unit's pressure control valve. The opening of this valve allowed emissions to be sent to the Coker Flare thus allow several compound to be released into the air. Followup: Yes Notes: after immediate response the problem was troubleshooted. In the end, the high level increase in the overhead accumulator of the Coke Incinerator was corrected and operations returned to normal conditions | |
| 128035 2010-12-08 | FLARE: Coker WGC (K-2178), Coker Flare (EPN 2-84) | Cause: Refinery letter states that Motiva experienced a flaring release caused by an unexpected shutdown of the Coker Wet Gas compressor due to power loss. Power loss is attributed to fault in MCC breaker and 4160V buss. Followup: No Notes: RQ. Coker Unit shutdown and restarted when flaring stopped. Re-evaluated relay settings and adjusted as needed to reduce potential for future trips. | 0.0 pounds |
| 126249 2010-09-09 | Butadiene Cool Down Line [wharf] | Cause: Report states that "at 1418 on September 9, 2010, Operations noticed an ice ball on an insulated finished butadiene cool down line. This line transports butadiene to the wharf. Once identified, the line was isolated and then de-pressured to the flare system. The cause of the leak was determined to be due to corrosion under the insulation." Followup: No Notes: RQ. Report states that, "On September 10, 2010, a skinner clamp was installed to temporarily stop the leak...clamp was replaced with an engineered box on September 12, 2010. This section of piping will be replaced during the next scheduled BD-5 unit turnaround. The facility failed to have control facilities in place to prevent the release. This is an area of concern with LAC 33:III.905. Control facilities to be installed when feasible." | 21.0 pounds |
| 125580 2010-08-10 | UTLX 950070 | Cause: The root cause of the release was faulty rail car equipment (rail car UTLX 950070). The gasket on the seat of the relief valve had deteriorated, resulting in a leak. 1,3 Butadiene was released. Followup: No Notes: Firewater was applied to the leaking car to suppress the vapors. The area surrounding the rail car was sampled for 1,3butadiene and hot zone was established. 5h llm after leak, The gasket on the seat of the relief valve was replaced reducing the leak by 99%. 11h and 49m later it was tightened stopping the leak. To confirm there was no more leaks, rail car UTLX 950070 was soap tested. The material was transferred out of the leaking rail car and off site. Measures were take with the rail scheduler to minimize the time that rail cars will sit on site without being shipped. No LDEQ report. Refinery letter only. | 49.0 pounds |
| 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." | 0.0 pounds |
| 121839 2010-03-02 | FLARE: RCCU Flare | Cause: Refinery letter states that "the main air blower for Motiva's RCCU unit tripped unexpectedly which..resulted in an emergency shut down of the RCCU and RGHT units." Upon start up of RCCU, it is suspected the RCCU flare pilot was unlit causing release to air of Ethylene, Propylene, 1,3=Butadiene, VOC, Flammable Gas, HRVOC. HEAVY FLARING ALSO OCCURRED AT SHELL CHEMICAL LP but will be included in a separate report (GO-1 flare).
Follow-up report states that "Motiva WAS NOT ABLE TO DETERMINE THE ULTIMATE CAUSE of the loss of the pilot flame, but that gas pressure being set above the design pressure or severe weather conditions may have contributed to the loss of pilot flame. FLARE. Followup: Yes Notes: RQ. Reportable quantities were exceeded during this incident. "All released materials were dispersed naturally in the atmosphere from the RCCU flare stack." Release was stopped by the re-lighting of the flare. Also flare pilot flame-out alarm was placed back into service and refresher training provided to all operations personnel on the importance of maintaining flare pilot flames. LDEQ report states that according to "LDEQ Enforcement Division, this incident is being included in an Enforcement Action being drafted by the LDEQ Enforcement Division." | 77.6 pounds |
| 121815 2010-03-01 | FLARE - Shell's GO-1 Elevated Flare (EPN 1-90) | Cause: LDEQ report states, "cat cracker tripped due to main air blower problems." Refinery letter states there was an unexpected shutdown of Motiva's RCCU Process Unit; had to flare dry gas being fed to Shell's GO-1 Process Unity to meet specifications to prevent further contamination to GO-1 and need for additional flaring. FLARE. Followup: No Notes: RQ. Reportable quantities exceeded. File includes letters from both Motiva and Shell Chemical. Motiva letter dated 3/8/2010 references submitting a follow-up within 60 day and Shell letter references "a separate letter from Motiva dated 4/28/10," but follow-up letter from Motiva is not included in file. | |
| 121572 2010-02-17 | FLARE - HCU Elevated Flare [EPN4-84], Relief Valve [RV1178 & RV1204] | Cause: Loss of electrical breaker powering most of the large motors in the hydrocracking unit caused two columns to "release to atmosphere;" RV-1178 on the Rectified Absorber Column for 30secs, RV-1204 on the Caustic Water Wash column "momentarily." FLARE. Followup: Yes Notes: BRQ. Refinery Follow-up Letter states "final calculations confirm that no reportable quantities were exceeded as a result of this release." Breaker loss discovered & repaired, operations returned to normal. | |
| 134290 2011-09-29 | Coker Flare FE-401 | Cause: While starting the Coker Jet Pump on 9/29/11 at 6:45pm, the electrical breaker at Motiva's Coking Unit tripped de-energizing the Motor Control Center. Consequently, the Coker Wet Gas Compressor tripped offline therefore resulting in unit flaring and operating in hot circulation mode. Hot circulation mode is an operating mode in which the unit recycles feed at high temperatures. This mode of operation lessens the amount of flaring in comparison to a complete unit shutdown. The initial inspection of the Jet Pump revealed that the auto-transformer serving as a soft start for this pump had failed causing the electrical breaker to trip open. Once repairs were completed, the Coker Unit was safely re-started and flaring stopped. Followup: No Notes: Immediately, Operations placed the furnace F-125 in hot steam standby and brought the Coker Unit into hot circulation mode to prevent additional flaring of non treated gas. Norco maintenance personnel were called out to troubleshoot the trip of the Coker Wet Gas Compressor and related equipment. The auto-transformer was removed from the circuit. Relay coordination was modified in order to protect the new circuit. After troubleshooting, maintenance personnel determined that operations could safely re-start the Coker Process Unit. During this time the Coker Wet Gas Compressor was restarted and flaring stopped. By 12/31/11 a study will be completed to determine whether the auto-transformer can be permanently removed from the system. After this study is completed, a strategy will be created to address the required changes. This action will be completed by 3/31/12. Calculations confirm that the reportable quantity for sulfur dioxide was exceeded as well as the permitted maximum pound per hour emission limits for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, VOC's, 1,3 butadiene, and benzene as a result of the release. | 0.1 pounds |
| 133785 2011-09-02 | Shell Chemical LP Utilities East Flare (EPN 3-84) | Cause: Motiva Norco experienced a malfunction and shutdown of the RCCU refrigerant chiller compressor (K-7200) resulting in a flare at the Shell Chemical LP Utilities East Flare (EPN 3-84) releasing nitrogen oxide and propylene. Followup: No Notes: LDEQ provided, but there was no Refinery Report included in the file. Motiva states that "final calculations confirmed no reportable quantities or permit limits were exceeded as a result of the incident". | 0.0 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. | 140.2 pounds |
| 130330 2011-03-31 | Coker Blowdown Vent | Cause: The facility reported the Coker unit was water quenching the coke material in Cooke Drum PV-918 and encountered a problem with an automated water quench sequence. Followup: Yes Notes: The facility took the problematic water quench sequence out of automatic mode and and manually closed off on the water control valve. Once the pressure was reduced to normal operation, the quench cycle was completed. The sequence has been adjusted, and additional orders have been given to the Coker operators so that this activity is consistent on each work shift. | |
| 129951 2011-03-17 | Ball valve on Butadiene Storage Tank | Cause: At 0635 on March 17, 2011 Motiva operations was notified that there was an odor of 1,3 butadiene coming from the Butadiene Propylene Storage (BPS) area. Upon investigating, operations found that the odor was coming from the sump at the south end of the BPS area. Operations observed condensation downstream of a 3/4" isolation gate valve on the dewatering piping in the vicinity. Additionally, a ball valve downstream of the 3/4" gate valve was found to be closed past the fully closed indication. Operations checked the temperature of the piping with a temperature gun and noted a 10 deg F difference across the 3/4" gate valve indicating a slight leak from the valve. Followup: No Notes: At 1011 on March 17, 2011, Motiva operations used a wrench to tighten the 3/4" gate. The ball valve was also moved back to the fully closed position and the bent stop on this valve was corrected. After completing these repairs, the temperature of the piping downstream of the gate valve increased and the condensation stopped indicating that the repair was successful and the leak stopped. | |
| 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. | 2,287.5 pounds |
| 129562 2011-03-01 | Coker Flare (EPN 2-84) | Cause: On March 1, 2011, at approximately 1003 hours, Motiva operations initiated a shutdown of the Coker process unit due to a bearing failure on the Coker Inner Stage Cooling Fans (B-2369 & B-2370). This shutdown resulted in flaring at the Coker Elevated Flare (EPN2-84). The unit was safely shut down in a controlled manner utilizing all operational and safety procedures. Additionally, dry gas vent samples were taken prior to shutting down the Coker Wet Gas Compressor (K-2178) to confirm that minimal emissions were sent to the Coker Flare (EPN2-84). Followup: Yes Notes: The unit was safely shut down in a controlled manner utilizing all operational and safety procedures. No additional information. | |
| 145652 2012-12-30 | Naphtha vapor return line DU-5 process unit | Cause: On December 30, 2012 a leak was discovered in a naphtha vapor line in the DU-5 Process Unit. The leak was from a pinhole that developed in a weld on the line. The leak on a vapor control line resulted in the release of 1, 3 butadiene and benzene. Followup: No Notes: The vapor return line was immediately isolated and a nitrogen purge was established. Plans have been developed to complete repairs to the line before the line is safely returned to service. They initially reported over 10 lbs of both Butadiene and benzene being released. Motiva later reported that no reportable quantities were exceeded. | |
| 145521 2012-12-23 | Finished butadiene line | Cause: At 23:45 on December 23, 2012 a contractor reported a leak on the finished butadiene line. Maintenance removed the insulation from the line and a pin-hole leak was located. Followup: Yes Notes: Operations de-pressured the line to the flare and installed a temporary clamp to stop the leak. An engineered box was installed on Decembrer 26, 2012. There was an undetermined amount of 1,3 butadiene released reported in initial report. A follow up report written on February 21, 2013 indicates that the reportable quantity for 1, 3 butadiene was exceeded. | 50.8 pounds |
| 144121 2012-10-23 | 4" Butadiene line | Cause: At 10:50 on October 23, 2012 during maintenance work to clean and paint a corroded area of the 4" Butadiene line, a contractor discovered an ice ball on the 4" butadiene line. The line was out of service and 95% depressurized for maintenance activities. Followup: No Notes: The area was cleared and the PEI inspector was called to investigate the leak. Upon investigation a pin hole in the pipe was discovered. At 13:30 there was no material detected exiting the pin hole. A clamp was installed and the leak officially stopped at 17:05. No mention of any pounds or gallons. | |
| 144106 2012-10-20 | Valve packing on 10" Finished BD wharf/Tank Car loading line | Cause: At 04:35 on October 22, 2012 Motiva BPS Operators discovered the inlet block valve to RV-2960 iced over during his surveillance rounds. Motiva Site Supervisor was notified, the EST group was activated and the area was isolated. The 3/4" thermal RV protects a 10" Finished BD wharf/Tank Car loading line. The line was under 45 psig and not being used to load BD at this time.
The source of the leak was the valve packing. Followup: Yes Notes: Once the line was depressured to 25 psig, the response team, under SCBA, used fire water to remove the ice and determine the exact source of the leak. The valve packing was tightened, and the leak was stopped at 07:22. No reportable quantities were exceeded. No mention of any pounds or gallons. | |
| 142429 2012-08-28 | multiple | Cause: Motiva Enterprises LLC, Norco Refinery is providing a preliminary report for a verbal notification on August 28, 2012 at 1854 hours of a release of 1,3 butadiene, benzene, carbon dioxide, ethylene, flammable gas, hexane, methane,
nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, propylene and sulfur dioxide from flaring and potential releases to atmosphere from the unexpected shutdown and restart of the site before and during inclement weather due to landfall of Hurricane Isaac.
On August 28, 2012, Shell Chemical Norco Site operation was adversely affected by inclement weather due to the landfall of Hurricane Isaac. Several of Shell's Units were un-expectantly shutdown due to safety concerns associated with operating in the weather conditions brought on by the landfall of Hurricane Isaac. All materials were released lo the atmosphere from the associated flare's, and dispersed naturally. Followup: Yes Notes: Recovery and preparations for a safe re-start of the site is ongoing (Notification on September 4th). Data gathering to perform calculations and investigation are ongoing. Motiva will provide an update within 60 days as required by LAC 33:1 3925.A.3. The updates were each a word for word copy of the original written notification letter from Motiva. There were also duplicate letters printed on the Shell Chemical letterhead that contained all of the same details from the Motiva reports. At this time (May 22 2013) LDEQ is still processing the update that they claim will have final calculations from their investigation. February 20, 2013 is the most recent follow-up that LABB was able to find (Update May 2013 - we requested the final summary report from LDEQ and received this final report that was published April 25th, 2013). The final report lists completely different pollutants than the list that was being reported in prior written notifications. These inconsistencies are not addressed in the report. Final summary report from Shell chemical 4/25/2013: Shell Chemical operations look the necessary steps to safely shut units down and minimize emissions resulting from the weather associated with Hurricane Isaac. Operations assessed damages, made repairs to equipment and safely return process units to normal operating conditions. RCCU at Motiva Enterprises (from final summary letter dated april 25 2012) On August 29, 2012, Motiva's Residual Catalytic Cracking Unit (RCCU) initiated a shutdown of the process unit due to inclement weather associated with Hurricane Isaac making landfall. During this time, the RCCU experienced an unexpected loss of flare pilot indication at the RCCU Elevated Flare, and a loss of pilot indication on the RCCU CO Heater due to hurricane force winds. An inadvertent catalyst leak developed during this time on level indicator Ll1548. Subsequently, the pH control on the circulation water for the RCCU Flue Gas Scrubber was lost at this time. The reportable quantities for volatile organic compounds and particulate matter were exceeded during this time. Additional details on reportable quantity and permit limit exceedences are listed in the following tables of this report. (also from April 25th report) Shell Chemical Venting to Motiva West Operations Ground Flare On August 29, 2012, Shell Chemical's G0-1 Process Unit flared at Motiva's West Operations Ground Flare due to shutdown and startup activities due to adverse weather conditions associated with the landfall of Hurricane Isaac. Details of the flaring by Shell Chemical are addressed in a separate letter from Shell. A total of the VOCs is given, but report states certain VOCs (carbon dioxide, ethylene, flammable gas, methane, propylene) that do not have breakdown of individual amounts released anywhere. This event did not result in an emergency condition. There were no fatalities, injuries or road closures. Planning and review meetings were held, learning's will be executed in future weather related occurrences as appropriate. | 1,136.4 pounds |
| 141583 2012-07-27 | Relief Valve at Residual Catalytic Cracking Unit | Cause: Motiva's Residual Catalytic Cracking Unit (RCCU) experienced a premature opening of a relief valve (RV) on the RCCU debutanizer column. The RCCU was operating under normal conditions at the time of the release, and operational data proves that the associated equipment did not reach the relief valve set point pressure to cause the RV to open.
A contract pressure equipment company was called out to help identify any mechanical problems with the RV. Additionally, RCCU operations lowered the debutanizer column pressure 3psig aas a precautionary measure until troubleshooting efforts are completed.
An update report was provided by Motiva on September 10, 2012. Followup: Yes Notes: A contract pressure equipment company was called out to help identify any mechanical problems with the RV. Additionally, RCCU operations lowered the debutanizer column pressure 3psig as a precautionary measure until troubleshooting efforts are completed. Upon investigation, the reportable quantity for flammable gas was exceeded in this release. 2189 pounds of flammable gas were were reported through the SPOC. The reportable quantity of flammable gas includes 1000 pounds. Refinery's attachment of listed pollutants released is too unfocused/fuzzy to read accurately. | |
| 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 1-90 GO-1 Elevated Flare FE-602 and Motiva West Operations Ground Flare. The unexpected loss of the boiler was a due to a loss of lube oil on the forced draft fan and broken linkage of the trip and throttle valve. Followup: Yes Notes: Calculations and investigations confirm that the reportable quantity for 1,3-Butadiene was exceeded during release from the flare. Maximum permitted limits were exceeded for 1,3-Butadiene and Hexane from the West Ops Ground Flare. Ethylene, PAHs, and sulfur dioxide were listed in the written reports as being released but do not have the amounts released in the Permitted Source Emissions tables. | 4,190.2 pounds |
| 138871 2012-04-16 | Train Car | Cause: A tank that was carrying butadiene was derailed on the facility grounds. The refinery stated that the tank car remained upright throughout the event, and that only its front two wheels derailed. No spill or damage to the car occurred as a result of the event. Followup: No Notes: The refinery called Hulcher Services, Inc., to place the car back on the tracks. The railcar was successfully placed back onto the tracks after being derailed for 4 hours and 26 minutes. | |
| 151405 2013-10-05 | RCCU Flare (FE-201) | Cause: Motiva's Residual Catalytic Cracking Unit (RCCU) experienced a perceived flame outage on its elevated flare (FE-201) during planned shutdown and decontamination activities. Alarms on the RCCU Elevated Flare indicated that a flame was not present. Operations personnel went in the field and verified that a flame was actually present and the alarm was incorrect. As a precautionary measure, decontamination efforts stopped. Once flame verification was complete, decontamination efforts were restarted. Followup: No Notes: | |
| 148282 2013-04-23 | NIG | Cause: On April 23, 2013 at 0030 hours, operations personnel in Logistics discovered a temporary clamp on a finished 1,3 Butadiene line that was leaking. Immediately after discovery, maintenance began repairs. The leak was stopped at 1330 on 4/23/2013. Followup: Yes Notes: The amount of 1,3 Butadiene released over the 13 hour period was below the reportable quantity. No additional information was provided. | |
| 148036 2013-04-10 | 1,3-Butadiene Line | Cause: On April 10, 2013 at 1550 hours, operations personnel in Logistics discovered a temporary clamp on a 1,3-butadiene line that was leaking. Immediately after discovery, maintenance began repairs. The leak was stopped at 0330 on 4/11/2013. Followup: Yes Notes: The weather conditions at the time of the release were as follows: ESE winds at 10mph, cloudy and a temperature of 78 degrees fahrenheit. Immediately after discovery, the line was depressurized and the clamp was re-pumped with sealant that stopped the leak. | 26.4 pounds |
| 154210 2014-02-27 | RCCU | Cause: On 2/27/2014, an unexpected leak occured on Motiva's Residual Catalytic Cracking Unit (RCCU) second cyclone dip leg. Due to the location of the leak, the catalyst leak cound not be safely repaired while the unit was fully operations. A partial shutdown of the RCCU was conducted to stop the leak and complete repairs. While the unit was partially shut down, flaring occured intermittently at the RCCU Elevated Flare (EPN FE201) to safely stabilize equipment that was still operational. During the start up of RCCU, untreated dry gas was flared at the GO1 Elevated Flare. Followup: Yes Notes: To minimize additional unit upset and to safely repair the catalyst leak , the RCCU Unit was partially shut down in a safe manner. The catalyst leak was stopped and the second cyclone dip leg was repaired. The original report and the first follow up report included in the event description that untreated dry gas was flared at the GO1 Elevated Flare during the start-up of RCCU. This was not included in the final follow up report. Additionally, two follow up reports were sent by Motiva, the first dated 4/24/2014 to provide a 60 day follow up. In this correspondence it is stated that they will provide a second update within 60 days, as data gathering and investigation was ongoing. The final follow up report was received on 6/24/2014. | 2.6 pounds |
| 153178 2014-01-06 | 1300# steam system at Residual Catalytic Cracking Unit | Cause: "Residual Catalytic Cracking Unit's Elevated Flare as a result of a swing in the steam system."
"Motiva's RCCU unit flared processed gas due to a swing in the 1300# steam system" Followup: No Notes: The report filed on 1/13/14 indicated that Shell will release an updated report within 60 days as of 9/5/14 the report has yet to be made. |
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