SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.
hazardous_liquid Incident —
Incident Information
| Report Date | — |
| Operator | SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P. |
| Commodity | — |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 42.90143, -82.50977 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | — |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | — |
| Lost Commodity | — |
| Public/Private Damage | — |
| Emergency Response | — |
| Environmental Remediation | — |
| Other Costs | — |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON 12/01/2017 AT APPROXIMATELY 17:30 HOURS, MARYSVILLE STATION OPERATOR OBSERVED A CRUDE OIL LEAK AT THE DENSITOMETER LOOP. IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION TO LOCAL SUPERVISOR AND CONTROL CENTER WAS MADE AND THE PIPELINE WAS SHUTDOWN. THE RELEASE OF CRUDE OIL WAS ESTIMATED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 1 BARREL AND WAS COMPLETELY CONTAINED ON COMPANY PROPERTY AND CLEANED UP. THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE OF THE LEAK WAS A SEAL FAILURE FOR THE DENSITOMETER SAMPLE LOOP. THE SEAL FAILED DUE TO THE DENSITOMETER LOOP PUMP SHAFT SHEARING WHICH CAUSED AN IMBALANCE ON THE PUMP SEAL LEADING TO ITS FAILURE. THE DENSITOMETER LOOP WAS ISOLATED AND THE PIPELINE SYSTEM WAS RESTARTED. THE DENSITOMETER PUMP WAS TEMPORARILY REPLACED WITH A SPARE UNIT. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE PUMP SHAFT SHEARED DUE TO THE MAGNETIC DRIVE DECOUPLING ALLOWING THE SHAFT TO SPIN IN AN UNBALANCED STATE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE SAMPLE LOOP AND PUMP WERE PERMANENTLY REMOVED FROM THE SYSTEM AND A NEW FORK DENSITOMETER WAS INSTALLED.
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.