SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorSUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates39.94024, -75.47990

Cause

CauseCORROSION FAILURE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

Property Damage
Lost Commodity
Public/Private Damage
Emergency Response
Environmental Remediation
Other Costs

Location Map

Incident Narrative

ON 4/10/2015 AT APPROXIMATELY 15:05 A LANDOWNER TELEPHONICALLY REPORTED A PETROLEUM ODOR TO THE SPLP CONTROL CENTER. THE LINE WAS SHUTDOWN AND FIELD PERSONNEL WERE DISPATCHED TO THE AREA AND DETECTED A RAINBOW SHEEN ON AN INTERMITTENT DRAINAGE SWALE IN A WOODED AREA ADJACENT TO THE PIPELINE ROW. EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND INCIDENT COMMAND WAS INITIATED AND THE SOURCE OF THE ODOR WAS TRACED TO THE POINT BREEZE TO MONTELLO 12"" REFINED PRODUCTS PIPELINE SYSTEM. THIS AREA OF THE PIPELINE WAS EXCAVATED AND A PLIDCO REPAIR CLAMP WAS USED TO EFFECT REPAIR AT THE FAILURE LOCATION. PERMANENT REPAIR VIA CUT OUT AND REPLACEMENT WAS PLANNED HOWEVER THE AREA OF THE FAILURE WAS LOCATED IN A WETLAND AREA THAT IS SUBJECT TO PA DEP PERMITTING. PERMIT APPROVAL PROCESS SIGNIFICANTLY DELAYED PERMANENT REPAIR. AS OF 7/10/2017 THE FAILED SECTION WAS CUT OUT AND REPLACED. THE FAILED SECTION WAS SENT TO A LABORATORY FOR FAILURE ANALYSIS. THE FAILURE ANALYSIS REPORT CONFIRMED THAT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS EXTERNAL CORROSION. THE MOST LIKELY MECHANISM FOR THE EXTERNAL CORROSION WAS COATING FAILURE WHICH CAUSED LOCALIZED SHIELDING OF THE CP. IN 2016, DEF/MFL/SMFL/LFM AND UT CRACK ILI TOOLS WERE RUN AND SUBSEQUENT REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENT OF SECTIONS OF THIS PIPELINE WERE AFFECTED INCLUDING THE CUT OUT AND REPLACEMENT OF THIS FAILED SECTION OF PIPE. SUBSEQUENT TO THE REPAIR PROGRAM A HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE TEST WAS COMPLETED TO REQUALIFY THE MOP.

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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