SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.
hazardous_liquid Incident —
Incident Information
| Report Date | — |
| Operator | SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P. |
| Commodity | — |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 32.07110, -96.47409 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | — |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | — |
| Lost Commodity | — |
| Public/Private Damage | — |
| Emergency Response | — |
| Environmental Remediation | — |
| Other Costs | — |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
SUNOCO OPERATING PERSONNEL DISCOVERED THE RELEASE AT 06:30 ON 3/20/2013. THE LINE SEGMENT WAS SHUT DOWN AND ISOLATED. THE ORIGINAL SPILL ESTIMATE WAS 20-30 BARRELS. EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND CLEANUP EFFORTS BEGAN AFTER DISCOVERY. AT 10:54 CST THE SPILL ESTIMATE WAS REVISED TO 300 BARRELS OUT WITH 160 BARRELS RECOVERED. THIS CHANGE RESULTED IN A DETERMINATION THAT THE $50K TELEPHONIC REPORTING CRITERIA WAS GOING TO BE MET. ONCE THIS TELEPHONIC REPORTING HAD BEEN DISCOVERED, TELEPHONIC REPORTING WAS MADE TO THE NRC AT 11:53 CST. THE RELEASE WAS DETERMINED TO BE ORIGINATING FROM A 1"" NIPPLE WHICH HAD BROKEN ON A SAMPLE LOOP. METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NIPPLE INDICATES THAT THE FAILURE WAS A RESULT OF FATIGUE PROPAGATED CRACKING DUE TO VIBRATIONAL STRESSES. SUNOCO HAS SINCE CHANGED THE OPERATION OF THE DELIVERY WHICH ELIMINATED THE VIBRATION AND THE NEED FOR THE NIPPLE. THE NIPPLE WAS REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH A PLUG.
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.