COLONIAL PIPELINE CO
hazardous_liquid Incident — — October 22, 2014
Incident Information
| Incident Date | October 22, 2014 |
| Operator | COLONIAL PIPELINE CO |
| Commodity | REFINED AND/OR PETROLEUM PRODUCT (NON-HVL) WHICH IS A LIQUID |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 30.05012, -93.77430 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | THREADED CONNECTION/COUPLING FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $9,970 |
| Emergency Response | $5,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"AT 09:00 ON 22 OCTOBER 2014 AN EMPLOYEE DISCOVERED PRODUCT IN AN ACCESS WELL AT ORANGE STATION, AN OUT OF SERVICE IDLED BOOSTER STATION FOR DISTILLATES. INTERNAL NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE AND ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT WERE CALLED IN TO INVESTIGATE. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE SOURCE OF THE RELEASE WAS PIG SIG #1 ON LINE 2. THE PIG SIG IS A 2 INCH TOR PLUG WITH AN EXTENSION CONNECTED TO A SWITCH ABOVE GROUND. THE HOUSING FOR THE EXTENSION WAS FULL OF DIESEL FUEL WHICH SEEPED OUT AND COLLECTED IN THE ACCESS WELL THAT SURROUNDS THE PIG SIG. LINE 2 WAS SHUT DOWN TO REMOVE THE PIG SIG AND CAP THE TOR, SINCE THAT EQUIPMENT IS NO LONGER REQUIRED FOR CURRENT OPERATIONS. EXAMINATION OF THE REMOVED EQUIPMENT REVEALED THAT THE O-RING IN THE PIG SIG PLUG WAS NO LONGER PROVIDING A COMPLETE SEAL. INCIDENT ANALYSIS DETERMINED THAT THE O-RING MOST LIKELY FAILED DUE TO AGE. AN EVALUATION OF THREE OTHER PIG SIGS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STATION HAD EITHER BEEN ISOLATED FROM THE MAIN LINE OR REMOVED. 3/11/2015: CORRECTED REFERENCE TO FACILITY STATUS FROM ABANDONED TO OUT OF SERVICE IDLED."
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.