PLANTATION PIPE LINE CO
hazardous_liquid Incident — — December 11, 2014
Incident Information
| Incident Date | December 11, 2014 |
| Operator | PLANTATION PIPE LINE CO |
| Commodity | REFINED AND/OR PETROLEUM PRODUCT (NON-HVL) WHICH IS A LIQUID |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 34.54502, -82.50691 |
Cause
| Cause | INCORRECT OPERATION |
| Subcause | OTHER INCORRECT OPERATION |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $0 |
| Emergency Response | $0 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
A FLASH FIRE OCCURRED DURING CUT OUT OF A SECTION OF PIPE ON THE 26-INCH CNG PIPELINE THAT INCLUDED A THREAD-O-RING (TOR). THE FLASH FIRE LOCATION WAS APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET DOWNSTREAM OF A LEAK REPAIR SITE. WELDING AT THE LEAK REPAIR SITE WAS NEAR COMPLETION WHEN THE FLASH FIRE OCCURRED AT THE TOR CUT OUT SITE. THE ON SCENE FIRE WATCH EXTINGUISHED THE FLASH FIRE. AN INVESTIGATION OF THE INCIDENT DETERMINED VACUUM ACTIVITIES AT THE TOR CUTOUT SITE TO ENSURE THE PIPING WAS FREE OF GASOLINE, CAUSED THE VAPOR ISOLATION SPHERE AND THE MUD PACK AT THE LEAK REPAIR SITE TO DISLODGE, ALLOWING VAPORS AND AIR TO TRAVEL INTO THE REPLACEMENT PIPE AT THE LEAK SITE CREATING A COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURE. SINCE WELDING WAS CONTINUING, THE SOURCE OF THE IGNITION WAS THE HEAT COMING FROM THE WELDING ACTIVITY CAUSING AN AUTO IGNITION OF THE VAPORS, WHICH THEN TRAVELED DOWN THE PIPE TO THE TOR SITE.
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.