CHS MCPHERSON REFINERY INC.
hazardous_liquid Incident — — January 17, 2020
Incident Information
| Incident Date | January 17, 2020 |
| Operator | CHS MCPHERSON REFINERY INC. |
| Commodity | HVL OR OTHER FLAMMABLE OR TOXIC FLUID WHICH IS A GAS AT AMBI |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 38.37290, -97.78231 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | NON-THREADED CONNECTION FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $500 |
| Emergency Response | $800 |
| Other Costs | $500 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON 01/17/2020 AT APPROXIMATELY 13:35 HOURS THE ON-SITE OPERATOR VISUALLY NOTICED A RELEASE OF BUTANE COMING FROM A BLOCK VALVE AT THE CONWAY STORAGE TERMINAL AND NOTIFIED THE CONTROLLER WHO ENACTED THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROCEDURES. THE CONTROLLER VERIFIED THE PIPELINE THAT SUPPLIES THE AFFECTED SEGMENT WAS SHUT-IN (LINE WAS NOT ACTIVE AT TIME OF RELEASE) AND MADE NOTIFICATIONS FOLLOWING THE PLAN. ONSITE FIELD PERSONNEL RESTRICTED ACCESS TO THE SITE AND FURTHER BLOCKED-IN THE AFFECTED SEGMENT ALLOWING IT TO DEPRESSURIZE VIA BLOWDOWN TO THE FLARE. PORTABLE LEL MONITORS WERE SET UP AROUND THE LEAK AREA TO VERIFY NO OFFSITE IMPACT DURING THE RELEASE. FACILITY PIPING DEPRESSURIZATION TOOK APPROXIMATELY 3 HOURS UNTIL THE LEAK STOPPED. THE DE-PRESSURED EFFECTED PIPING SEGMENT REMAINED BLOCKED IN AND CONNECTED TO THE FLARE BLOWDOWN SYSTEM AND MONITORED TILL REPAIRS WERE COMPLETED ON 01/20/2020. THE LEAK WAS REPAIRED BY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL AND THE PIPELINE WAS RETURNED TO SERVICE ON 01/20/2020 AT APPROXIMATELY 12:00 HOURS. DUE TO THE TYPE OF PRODUCT LOST (BUTANE), THERE WAS NO PRODUCT AVAILABLE FOR RECOVERY.
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.