Cause of Caribbean Petroleum Tank Farm Fire was faulty level indications says CSB
Here’s an update on the the Caribbean Tank Farm Fire from the CSB (US Chemical Safety Board).
Bayamon, PR, November 17, 2009 – The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today announced that it will be conducting a full investigation of the October 23, 2009 explosion and fire at Caribbean Petroleum Refining. CSB investigators continue to examine the events and circumstances surrounding the catastrophic tank explosion and fire.
At 12:23 a.m. on October 23, a large vapor cloud ignited at the Caribbean Petroleum facility near San Juan, Puerto Rico. The blast damaged homes and businesses over a mile from the facility. Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board arrived in Puerto Rico that evening. Over the past few weeks the five-person investigation team has conducted numerous interviews, requested hundreds of pages of documents and catalogued key pieces of evidence.
CSB Board Member William Wright said, “The CSB will conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation of this accident; our team will uncover exactly what events led to an explosion of this magnitude. Our goal is to determine not only what happened, but why it happened.”
At the time of the incident a tank was being filled with gasoline from a ship docked in San Juan harbor. Investigators have determined that a likely scenario leading to the release was an accidental overfilling of the tank. Gasoline spilled from the tank without detection; as the material spilled it vaporized and spread across the facility. CSB investigators estimate that the vapor cloud spread to a 2000 foot diameter until it reached an ignition source in the northwest section of the facility.
The CSB found that on the evening of the incident, the liquid level in the tank could not be determined because the facility’s computerized level monitoring system was not fully operational. In order to monitor the level in the tank, operators used a mechanical gauge on the tank’s exterior wall. Therefore as the gasoline , employees located in the facility’s control room were unaware of the emergency.
“The filling of a tank without a functioning monitoring system is the type of activity the CSB will be examining very closely,” said Investigator-in-Charge Jeffrey Wanko, P.E. CSP. “The CSB’s investigation will examine operations particular to Caribbean Petroleum, but will also look at the regulations and best practices surrounding the industry as a whole in an effort to improve safety practices at similar facilities.”
So once again the same old story about poor level monitoring and overfill protection systems continues….the last such level monitoring failure was at Buncefield in the UK, where a malfunctioning level indicator caused overfilling and a massive explosion and fire. (Read more about it on this bog by typing Buncefield in the Search box)
On a side note: To prevent accidents and such undesirable events, it is not only essential that your plant or facility have the necessary instruments and systems, but also your staff needs to have training in how to use them. An example would be the excellent training course on hazardous area instrumentation here and another one on gas monitors here.
Explosion and Fire at Silver Eagle Refinery-CSB deploys investigative team
Washington DC, November 4, 2009 - A six-member team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is deploying to the scene of today’s explosion and fire at the Silver Eagle Refinery in Woods Cross, Utah.
According to local officials, the explosion in the diesel hydrotreater unit caused damage to homes in the surrounding area and was felt several miles away from the facility.
The CSB is investigating a January 2009 flash fire at the same refinery that burned two refinery operators and two contractors. The investigation team will be led by CSB Investigations Supervisor Donald Holmstrom and will be arriving Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
This seems to be an unfortunate season of accidents and undesirable events at petroleum facilities all over the world. Whether this is a coincidence, or a reflection of today’s cost cutting management practices, needs to be investigated more in depth.
Caribbean Petroleum Corporation Tank Explosion in Puerto Rico
Nov 18 Update: Cause of the accident found out- please click here for the detailed story.
This week seems to be the season of refinery accidents. After the Tesoro refinery fire, now we have another one, this time in Puerto Rico.
Oct 25, 2009- A large fire that reportedly broke out in the Caribbean Petroleum Corporation’s Bayamon facility in Puerto Rico is still raging without any signs of getting under control anytime soon. More than 150 firefighters are working continuously at the scene, backed by the National Guard. News from various sources say that about 1500 people have been evacuated from their homes. Schools in the vicity are reportedly closed due to the incident.
The fire began after an explosion in the facility, that was heard for miles around. Surprisingly explosions reportedly happened in as many of 12 out of the 40 or so storage tanks at the location.
What adds a twist in the tale is the suspicion, that it may have been an act of sabotage. To investigate this aspect, sources claim that FBI agents are on the hunt for the perpetrators, who have scrawled graffiti about it in a San Juan tunnel.
The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB for short), has also stepped in to investigate and has now deployed a six member team of investigators to travel to Puerto Rico immediately. CSB Investigator Jeff Wanko, PE, will lead the team which is expected on the island soon.
And to top it all, a lawyer has already gone ahead and filed a class action suit against Caribbean Petroleum Company in the Federal District court in San Juan.
A huge cloud of acrid smoke, as seen in the picture below has started enveloping parts of San Juan. However Gov. Loius Fortuno, reportedly denied to reporters that the event can be classed as an environmental disaster.
Here’s a picture of the fire that gives a perspective of it’s scope and severity.
CaribbeanPetroleumFirePuertoRico
Stay tuned for more developments on this one on this blog.
Tesoro Refinery Fire at Salt Lake City-CSB to investigate
There has been a fire at the Tesoro refinery in Salt Lake City, Utah that looks eerily similar to the infamous Texas BP fire. Despite so many incidents, apparently, safety is not being given the top priority it once was, by company managements. Or such incidents happening due to the bean counters in the higher ups in these companies? (Because these penny wise pound foolish guys seem to have virtually decimated the large engineering and operations groups that used to be present in many large companies). Today, under the guise of “cost cutting” and “operational efficiencies”, most large engineering teams have been given the heave ho. The results are there for all to see. Anybody who has worked in the 70s, 80s or even early 90s will understand what I am talking about…..
The below news is from the CSB’s website at http://www.chemsafety.gov
Washington, DC, October 22, 2009 - A three-person investigative team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) will be examining a fire that occurred Wednesday evening at the Tesoro refinery in Salt Lake City, Utah, following a power outage earlier in the day.
According to refinery officials, liquid hydrocarbons were released from a flare stack during an effort to restart the refinery’s crude unit. The hydrocarbons were ignited in a pool fire that extended from the base of the stack and damaged a trailer and other equipment that were positioned nearby.
CSB Investigator Cheryl MacKenzie will lead the three-person team from the CSB’s Western Regional Office in Denver, Colorado. The team is expected to arrive at the site today.
CSB Chairman Bresland said the CSB inquiry would seek to determine if there are any similarities to the 2005 accident at the BP Texas City refinery, which occurred when flammable liquid erupted from a blowdown stack during a unit startup, leading to a massive vapor cloud explosion that killed 15 workers in nearby trailers and injured 180 others. The CSB recommended numerous changes to regulations, enforcement, and industry safety practices following that accident.
“Nearly four years after the disaster in Texas City, there continues to be a disturbing number of fires, explosions, and releases at the nation’s refineries. These events endanger workers and the public and can disrupt the supply of needed transportation fuels,” said Chairman John Bresland. “A sudden release of flammable liquid from a flare or blowdown stack poses a potential risk to people, equipment, and the environment and warrants a close look.”
No injuries were reported in the fire at Tesoro, but smoke and flames were visible over a wide area in Salt Lake City, and an interstate highway and a commuter rail line were closed temporarily. Refinery and municipal firefighters extinguished the blaze within an hour.
The CSB continues to investigate the serious flash fire that occurred in January 2009 at the Silver Eagle refinery in nearby Woods Cross, Utah, with a final report expected early in 2010.
Combustible Dust Explosions-hidden hazards in industrial manufacturing plants
The US Chemical Safety Board has released an excellent educational video, that shows the hazards that are present in many manufacturing plants, due to accumulated dust. When we think about explosions and fires, we never think that such incidents could be caused solely by dusts. We normally tend to think that such incidents are caused by volatile hydrocarbons and other inflammable chemicals and gases. However the video shows that combustible dust hazards are real and can cause as much damage (perhaps even more), as that can be caused by hydrocarbon or explosive gases. Combustible dusts are present in many manufacturing facilities that do not process hydrocarbons or other inflammable chemicals. Typical examples are coal fired power plants, resin production plants, rubber manufacturing, aluminum metal working plants, yarn processing, food production, wood working as well as the usual suspects “chemical and hydrocarbon processing plants”.
The US Chemical Safety Board has called upon OSHA to come up with a comprehensive regulation that will prevent the occurrence of such incidents. Watch the entire video below to understand how you can prevent such incidents from occurring in your own plants. In fact this video should be made part of mandatory safety training for all industrial workers and other employees. Watch it all below.
