COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorCOLONIAL PIPELINE CO
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates40.57649, -74.25309

Cause

CauseEQUIPMENT FAILURE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

Property Damage
Lost Commodity
Public/Private Damage
Emergency Response
Environmental Remediation
Other Costs

Location Map

Incident Narrative

CORROSION CONTRACTOR WORKING IN THE AREA NOTICED STAINED STONE AROUND TANK 1475. CONTRACTOR NOTIFIED LINDEN OPERATIONS. COLONIAL PERSONNEL INVESTIGATED AND DETERMINED POSSIBLE TANK LEAK AND ACTIVATED THE LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM. APPROPRIATE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE. TANK EMPTIED AND ISOLATED FROM PIPING MANIFOLDS. INTERNAL INSPECTION CURRENTLY UNDER WAY TO DETERMINE ROOT CAUSE OF FAILURE. UPDATE 10/16/23 AN INVESTIGATION WAS COMPLETED, THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS STRESS ON THE ANGLE JOINING THE DRAIN DRY SUMP TO THE BOTTOM PLATE WHICH CAUSED THE STEEL TO CRACK. A METALLURGY REPORT CONCLUDED THAT THE FATIGUE CRACK IN THE DRAIN DRY SUMP ANGLE WAS CAUSED BY FREEZE-THAW CYCLES OF THE GROUNDWATER WHEN THE TANK IS EMPTY. UPDATE 11/9/2023 UPDATED SUB-CAUSE TO INCLUDE THERMAL STRESS.

About This Pipeline Incident

Pipeline incident data is reported to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). All significant incidents involving fatalities, injuries, or property damage over $50,000 must be reported.

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