EXPLORER PIPELINE CO

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorEXPLORER PIPELINE CO
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates31.92174, -95.81762

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

ON TUESDAY AUGUST 25, 2020 AT 20:12 THE EXPLORER PIPELINE CONTROL CENTER RECEIVED A VAPOR MONITOR ALARM AT THE PALESTINE, TEXAS PUMP STATION. THE PIPELINE WAS SHUT DOWN AND THE PUMP STATION WAS ISOLATED FROM THE MAINLINE PIPELINE. LOCAL PERSONNEL ARRIVED AT 20:57 AND CONFIRMED THAT THE UNIT 3 INBOARD PUMP SEAL HAD FAILED CAUSING A RELEASE. THE LOCKING WASHER KEYWAY TAB ON THE INBOARD PUMP SEAL BROKE AND ALLOWED THE LOCK NUT TO LOOSEN ON THE SHAFT. THE END THRUST OF THE PUMP EXCEED TOLERANCE DAMAGING THE INBOARD PUMP SEAL THAT IS COMPOSED OF A CARBON-BASED MATERIAL. A TOTAL OF 200 GALLONS OF GASOLINE WAS RELEASED FROM THE PUMP SEAL BUT WAS CONTAINED ON THE PROPERTY WITHIN A CHECK VALVE VAULT ADJACENT TO THE PUMP.

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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