COLONIAL PIPELINE CO
hazardous_liquid Incident — — April 4, 2023
Incident Information
| Incident Date | April 4, 2023 |
| Operator | COLONIAL PIPELINE CO |
| Commodity | REFINED AND/OR PETROLEUM PRODUCT (NON-HVL) WHICH IS A LIQUID |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 40.15365, -74.65860 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | NON-THREADED CONNECTION FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $15,000 |
| Emergency Response | $266,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"ON 4/4/23 DURING A ROUTINE STATION CHECK, AN AREA OPERATOR OBSERVED MULTIPLE AREAS OF STAINED STONES WHERE RAINWATER RECENTLY RECEDED. SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATION FOUND PETROLEUM-BASED PRODUCT ACCUMULATING IN POTHOLES WHERE THE RAINWATER RECEDED. LOCAL RESPONSE TEAM (TIER 1) WAS ACTIVATED, APPROPRIATE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE. FACILITY WAS STAFFED AS INVESTIGATION AND CLEANUP ACTIVITIES OCCURRED. THE INITIAL INVESTIGATION IDENTIFIED AN O-RING FAILURE. A COMPREHENSIVE INCIDENT ANALYSIS IS CURRENTLY BEING CONDUCTED. UPDATE 6/5/2023 AN INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THE RELEASE CAME FROM UNIT 1 CHECK VALVE LID DUE TO TWO (2) SPLIT O-RINGS FAILURES. THE FAILED O-RINGS WERE REPLACED WITH O-RINGS FROM THE VALVE MANUFACTURER. GENERAL CONDITION OF THE SEALS WAS INDICATIVE OF AGEING AND EMBRITTLEMENT ISSUES AND THE TIME TO FAILURE IS ON THE CORRECT SCALE OF NORMAL SEAL USABLE LIFE."
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.