THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY
hazardous_liquid Incident — — July 23, 2012
Incident Information
| Incident Date | July 23, 2012 |
| Operator | THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY |
| Commodity | REFINED AND/OR PETROLEUM PRODUCT (NON-HVL) WHICH IS A LIQUID |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 28.95980, -95.31151 |
Cause
| Cause | CORROSION FAILURE |
| Subcause | INTERNAL CORROSION |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $2,000,000 |
| Emergency Response | $200,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"ON JULY 23, 2012 AT 20:00 HOURS THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY EMERGENCY SERVICES RECEIVED A TELEPHONE REPORT FROM THE PUBLIC OF A STRANGE ODOR. THE REPORT STATED THE ODOR WAS NEAR HIGHWAY 332 AND THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY LEVEE. EMERGENCY SERVICES PERSONNEL INVESTIGATED THE REPORT AND FOUND A WET SPOT ON THE GROUND NEAR SEVERAL PIPELINES. EMERGENCY SERVICES CONTACTED THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY SITE PIPELINE OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT. SITE PIPELINE OPERATIONS PERSONNEL RESPONDED AND ARRIVED AT THE ODOR LOCATION AROUND 20:10 HOURS. SAMPLES OF THE SOURCE OF THE ODOR WERE TAKEN AND ANALYZED. THE MATERIAL WAS IDENTIFIED AS NAPHTHA. INVESTIGATION SHOWED THAT THE ONLY NAPHTHA LINE IN THE AREA WAS DPL-145. THE DPL-145 CONTROL CENTER WAS CONTACTED. INVESTIGATION SHOWED THAT DPL-145 HAD EXPERIENCED A RAPID PRESSURE DROP. SITE PIPELINE OPERATIONS PERSONNEL PROCEEDED TO CONTAIN THE LEAK BY BLOCKING IN ADDITIONAL VALVES ON DPL-145. INVESTIGATION SHOWED THAT DPL-145 WAS ALREADY OUT OF SERVICE AND WAS IN THE PROCESS OF AN EVALUATION FOR MAINTENANCE. THE PIPELINE WAS FULL OF LIQUID BUT WAS NOT FLOWING. CURRENTLY REMEDIATION OPERATIONS ARE UNDERWAY. THE PIPELINE IS ISOLATED, DE-PRESSURED AND IN THE PROCESS OF BEING CLEARED. ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION AS OF 11/5/12: PIPELINE REMAINS OUT OF SERVICE. THE CAUSE OF THE LEAK WAS INTERNAL CORROSION WHICH FAILED DUE TO THERMAL EXPANSION. TEMPORARY CLAMPS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED AT LEAK SITE. PIPELINE HAS NOT BEEN CUT OPEN AS OF YET. PIPELINE IS AWAITING FINAL DISPOSITION. WE WILL BOTH REPAIR AND RE-COMMISSION OR ABANDON THE PIPELINE BASED ON A BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS. PIPELINE IS OUT OF SERVICE, CLEARED OR PRODUCT BUT NOT CLEAN. IT IS AIR GAPPED ON BOTH ENDS. THIS PIPELINE WILL POTENTIALLY BE OUT OF SERVICE FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS."
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.