KINDER MORGAN LIQUID TERMINALS, LLC

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorKINDER MORGAN LIQUID TERMINALS, LLC
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates29.72536, -95.20334

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 5/27/2017 THE CONTROL ROOM RECEIVED A HYDROCARBON ALARM VIA THE HMI. THE CONTROL ROOM IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN AND SENT AN OPERATOR TO PIT 4 TO CONFIRM IF GASOLINE LEAK HAD OCCURRED. UPON CONFIRMATION, THE ASSETS WERE STRIPPED OF PRODUCT AND THE GASKET WAS DETERMINED TO HAVE FAILED ON A FLANGE DUE TO THERMAL PRESSURE. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION, THERMAL OVERPRESSURE WAS DISCOUNTED SINCE THE PRESSURE CHARTS DID NOT SHOW THE PRESSURE EXCEEDING MOP. THE CAUSE OF THE RELEASE CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO A FEW COMPOUNDING FACTORS. WE BELIEVE THE SECTION IN QUESTION WAS UNDER MECHANICAL STRESS, FROM CONTRACTION AND EXPANSION FROM FLUCTUATING TEMPERATURES (SEASONAL CHANGES), WHICH ALONG WITH SOME BOLT SURFACE CORROSION CAUSED THE FLANGE TO SPLAY OPEN AND THE GASKET TO FAIL. THE GASKET AND BOLTS WERE REPLACED. TO MITIGATE THE MECHANICAL STRESS IN THE AREA THE ENTIRE RELATED HEADER IN PIT 4 WAS REPLACED.

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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