COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

hazardous_liquid Incident — — August 17, 2012

Incident Information

Incident DateAugust 17, 2012
OperatorCOLONIAL PIPELINE CO
CommodityREFINED AND/OR PETROLEUM PRODUCT (NON-HVL) WHICH IS A LIQUID
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates33.85596, -84.62949

Cause

CauseCORROSION FAILURE
SubcauseINTERNAL CORROSION

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

Property Damage$1,750
Emergency Response$23,250
Other Costs$0

Location Map

Incident Narrative

"AT APPROXIMATELY 18:30, THE OUTSIDE TANK FARM CONTROLLER PERFORMING A STATION CHECK DISCOVERED A STAIN IN THE GRAVEL NEAR THE LINE 14 CONTROL VALVE AND GPE CABINET. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION, HE FOUND PRODUCT IN THE 4 INSTRUMENT CONNECTION ACCESS WELLS AROUND THE LINE 14 CONTROL VALVE GPE CABINET. IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION TO CONTROL CENTER WAS MADE AND PROCEDURE EOP-CPC-K01 WAS ENTERED. THE LEAK WAS REPORTED TO THE OPERATIONS MANAGER AND DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS. LINE 14 WAS IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN AND ISOLATED UPSTREAM AT THE METER RUN AND DOWNSTREAM AT THE OUTGOING TRAP. LINE 14 CONTROL VALVE WAS EXCAVATED AND LEAK WAS FOUND COMING FROM A PINHOLE IN THE 3/4"" NIPPLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MASON-NEILEN CONTROL VALVE. THE LINE WAS DRAINED UP AND THE NIPPLE WAS REPLACED. THE LINE WAS RESTARED AT APPROXIMATELY 10:05 ON AUGUST 18TH. FINAL CLEANUP WAS COMPLETED ON TUESDAY AUGUST 21ST. SPILL VOLUME WAS DETERMINED TO BE 58 GALLONS. 35 GALLONS OF FREE PRODUCT WAS COLLECTED, 18 GALLONS WAS RECOVERED IN 28.2 TONS OF SOIL, AND AN ESTIMATED 5 GALLONS REMAINS IN SOILS THAT COULD NOT BE DUG UP. THE SOIL THAT WAS NOT RECOVERED IS UNDER A WASHDOWN SLAB AND A GPE CABINET. GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER WERE NOT AFFECTED BY THE RELEASE."

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.

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