WEST SHORE PIPELINE CO

Incident Narrative

AT 02:41 AM CST ON AUGUST 27, 2012, THE BUCKEYE CONTROL CENTER DETECTED A SIGNIFICANT PRESSURE DROP ON THE EV230NJ PIPELINE, A 12 INCH LINE RUNNING FROM EAST CHICAGO TO CANAL JUNCTION. THE CONTROLLER IMMEDIATELY RESPONDED AND SHUT DOWN THE LINE. THE RELEASE WAS LOCATED BY A PIPELINER AT 02:55 AM CST IN PALOS HEIGHTS, COOK COUNTY, IL. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROCEDURES WERE INITIATED AND ALL LOCAL AND FEDERAL AGENCIES WERE CONTACTED. EXCAVATION REVEALED A SPLIT NEAR A SEAM (ERW) ON THE PIPE. ON AUGUST 31, THE OLD SECTION OF PIPE WAS REMOVED AND A NEW SECTION WAS INSTALLED. PRESSURE HOLD TESTS WERE SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCTED ON SEPTEMBER 14 AND 15. THE LINE WAS RESTARTED ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2012. AFTER THE REFILL WAS COMPLETED, THE OUTAGE WAS DETERMINED TO BE 704 BARRELS OF JET FUEL. REMEDIATION EFFORTS ARE ONGOING. THE AFFECTED PORTION OF THE PIPE HAS BEEN SENT TO AN INDEPENDENT COMPANY FOR METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS. APPROXIMATELY 9 BARRELS OF JET FUEL REACHED THE NEARBY CALUMET SAG CHANNEL ON AUGUST 27, 2012. THE CHANNEL WAS CLOSED AND THE BARRELS WERE RECOVERED. THE CHANNEL WAS REOPENED ON AUGUST 28, 2012. SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT: *BBLS RECOVERED UPDATED TO 685. *PART E UPDATED TO SHOW THAT A CONTROL ROOM ISSUE MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE RELEASE. *INDEPENDENT METALLURGICAL TESTING AND ANALYSIS ON THE FAILED SECTION OF PIPE HAS BEEN COMPLETED. THE TESTING AND ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT THE RUPTURE OCCURRED ALONG THE LONG SEAM WELD IN AN AREA WITH REDUCED WALL THICKNESS DUE TO EXTERNAL CORROSION. THE AREAS OF EXTERNAL CORROSION ON THE PIPE CORRESPONDED TO AREAS OF COATING DISBONDMENT ALONG THE 9:00 ORIENTATION AND 3:00 ORIENTATION OF THE 16 DEGREE BEND IN THE PIPE AT THE FAILURE LOCATION. THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF PREFERENTIAL CORROSION AT THE LONG SEAM WELD (GROOVING CORROSION) AT THE ORIGIN OF THE FAILURE. HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH CORROSION ALSO WERE FOUND ON THE SURFACE OF THE PIPE NEAR THE FAILURE, SUGGESTING THAT THEY MAY HAVE PLAYED A ROLE IN THE FAILURE. SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT: *PART C 3. WELD CHANGED TO 'LONG SEAM - ELECTRIC FLASH WELD' *PART D 8. EMERGENCY RESPONSE COSTS UPDATED TO $2,726,171 *PART G7 CHANGED TO 'INADEQUATE PROCEDURE' *PART H NARRATIVE -- PRIOR TO THE PRESSURE DROP, A PIPELINER AT CANAL JUNCTION STATION HAD A CONTROLLER CYCLE SOME VALVES WITHOUT PHYSICALLY VERIFYING A CLEAR PATH OF FLOW. THERE WAS A HAND-OPERATED SCRAPER BYPASS VALVE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN OPENED PRIOR TO THE OTHER VALVES BEING CYCLED. SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT *UPDATED ALL OF PART C 3. SUPPLEMENTAL/FINAL *UPDATED COSTS IN D 8. REMEDIATION IS EXPECTED TO LAST APPROXIMATELY ONE MORE YEAR. REMEDIATION COSTS ARE THE CURRENT FIGURE PLUS WHAT IS EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT YEAR. SUPPLEMENTAL *UPDATED PART C 6. TO INCLUDE WIDTH AND LENGTH OF RUPTURE. FORM ONLY ALLOWED ONE DECIMAL PLACE. ACTUAL IS 1.75"" MAX WIDTH (NEAR THE CENTER), 26.25"" LENGTH.