WILLIAMS FIELD SERVICES
hazardous_liquid Incident — — December 24, 2014
Incident Information
| Incident Date | December 24, 2014 |
| Operator | WILLIAMS FIELD SERVICES |
| Commodity | HVL OR OTHER FLAMMABLE OR TOXIC FLUID WHICH IS A GAS AT AMBI |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 40.26271, -80.26411 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | MALFUNCTION OF CONTROL/RELIEF EQUIPMENT |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $1,000,000 |
| Emergency Response | $10,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON THE NIGHT OF 12/24 SEVERE WEATHER IN SOUTHWESTERN PA CAUSED INTERMITTENT POWER OUTAGES TO THE HOUSTON PA SITE. THESE RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF PHASE CONVERTERS (DEVICES THAT CONVERT SINGLE PHASE AC POWER TO THREE-PHASE AC POWER) TO THE FACILITY, AND THE SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF INSTRUMENT AIR. THROUGH A NUMBER OF DESIGN FAILURES THIS LOSS OF INSTRUMENT AIR PRESSURE RESULTED IN AN OVERPRESSURE EVENT THAT RESULTED IN THERMAL RELIEF VALVES, CONNECTED TO THE FACILITY MAINTENANCE FLARE SYSTEM, RELIEVING AT MAXIMUM CAPACITY. IN SHORT ORDER THIS RELIEF CASE, WHICH THE FLARE WAS NOT SIZED FOR (BLOCKED CLOSED OVERPRESSURE CASES WERE ASSUMED BE HANDLED BY OTHER MEANS, SLAM VALVES ETC.), RESULTED IN FLARING IN EXCESS OF FLARE DESIGN, FLARE HEADER OVERPRESSURE, AND THE RUPTURE OF THE ETHANE VAPORIZER AT ITS INLET NOZZLE. THIS RUPTURE RELEASED ADDITIONAL FUEL INTO FLARE AREA, WHICH IGNITED FROM THE FLARE, AND FORMED A JET FIRE. THE INCIDENT CONCLUDED AFTER WILLIAMS PERSONNEL ISOLATED SOURCES OF FUEL TO THE FLARE HEADER.
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.