WEST COAST TERMINAL PIPELINE (WCTP)
hazardous_liquid Incident — — March 10, 2021
Incident Information
| Incident Date | March 10, 2021 |
| Operator | WEST COAST TERMINAL PIPELINE (WCTP) |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 33.80366, -118.23357 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | THREADED CONNECTION/COUPLING FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $100 |
| Emergency Response | $65,030 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON 3/10/21, CARSON OPERATIONS PERSONNEL OBSERVED CRUDE OIL SPRAYING FROM A NIPPLE CONNECTION ON STRAINER BASKET NEAR PUMP 121. THE FAILED COMPONENT IS ONLY SUBJECT TO TANK HEAD PRESSURE. PUMP WAS IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN, RELEASE SOURCE ISOLATED AND SECURED. OSRO WAS DISPATCHED AND AREA WAS RELEASE WAS CLEANED. THE CAUSE FOR THE NIPPLE FAILURE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. AN NRC NOTIFICATION WAS MADE ON 3/26/2021 IMMEDIATELY AFTER IT WAS DETERMINED THE COST FOR THIS RELEASE WOULD EXCEED THE $50,000 REPORTING CRITERIA. UPDATE 6/4/2021-UPDATED APPARENT CAUSE TO EQUIPMENT FAILURE. A PUMPING SEQUENCE WAS MADE FOR OUTBOUND CRUDE DELIVERIES. MODIFICATIONS MADE FOR THIS SEQUENCE CHANGE REMOVED THE ABILITY TO BLEND FROM TANK 19, BYPASSED PUMP P-122, AND RELIED ONLY ON PUMP P-121 TO BOOST PRODUCT FROM TANK 23 TO THE MAIN PUMP P-120. THIS MODIFICATION CREATED VIBRATION ON THE P-121 PUMP SKID THAT WAS NOT PRESENT PRIOR TO THE CHANGES. WORKING WITH ENGINEERING TO PREVENT REOCCURRENCE.
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.