SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

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

Location

State
Coordinates39.84515, -75.42020

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

AN OPERATOR DETECTED A DIESEL LEAK AT A RAPID FLASH ANALYZER UNIT WHILE MAKING ROUNDS. THE OPERATOR NOTIFIED CHAIN OF COMMAND AND PLACED SPILL ABSORBENTS TO COLLECT PRODUCT ON GROUND. THE SOURCE OF THE DIESEL WAS IDENTIFIED AS THE RAPID FLASH ANALYZER UNIT SAMPLE RECOVERY SYSTEM RESERVOIR TANK. THE SAMPLE RECOVERY SYSTEM PORTION OF THE RAPID FLASH ANALYZER UNIT DID NOT OPERATE AS WARRANTED BY THE MANUFACTURER. THE SAMPLE RETURN PUMP WAS DISABLED DUE TO A FAILED FUSE IN THE CONTROL MODULE. TH ANALYZER CONTINUED TO SAMPLE THE DIESEL AND ANALYZE THE FLASH. THE 15 GALLON SAMPLE RECOVERY RESERVOIR TANK FILLED THEN OVERFLOWED VIA THE ATMOSPHERIC BREATHER VENT. INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT A FAILED 1 AMP FUSE IN THE RAPID FLASH UNIT CONTROL ELECTRONICS PREVENTED THE UNIT'S SAMPLE RECOVERY RETURN PUMP FROM OPERATING AS EXPECTED. THE UNIT WAS PROVIDED FROM THE MANUFACTURER WITH A 1 AMP FUSE IN THE CONTROL MODULE INSTEAD OF A 3 AMP FUSE CLEARLY SHOWING A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT.

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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