The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Aging, thin pipe likely cause of Philadelphia refinery fire
PHILADELPHIA >> An aging, failed elbow pipe appears to be the initial cause of a June 21 fire and subsequent explosions that injured five people at the largest oil refinery on the East Coast, federal investigators said Wednesday.
The U.S. Chemical and Safety Hazard Investigation Board released a preliminary factual findings report during a news conference that included a timeline and likely initial cause of the fire at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refining complex.
Investigators found the remnants of the failed elbow pipe, which they said had worn to .012 inches — about half the thickness of a credit card — likely contributing to the release of the flammable vapor. The board is continuing its investigation and plans to release a final report with an official cause and recommendations, agency investigators said.
After the elbow pipe failed around 4 a.m., a cloud of flammable vapor ignited. Investigators said there were three explosions that followed including the last explosion of a surge drum around 4:22 a.m. that sent three large chunks of debris that is estimated to weigh up to 19 tons (17 metric tons).
Company officials said the explosions caused severe damage to the 150-year-old site, the largest oil refinery on the East Coast, which had been processing 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily into gasoline, jet fuel, propane, home heating oil and other products. The damage caused the company to shutter the refinery, declare bankruptcy and start laying off workers in August.
The five workers injured in the fire received treatment on scene for minor injuries.
“This didn’t need to happen,” said board interim executive Kristen Kulinowski. She said the piping that failed “had not been inspected for corrosion in the last 45 years.”
The report noted that both the 2012 Chevron Richmond refinery fire in California and the 2009 Silver Eagle refinery fire in Utah were similarly caused by ruptured pipes that had thinned due to corrosion.
Kulinowski said one of the frustrating parts about working with the board is seeing the same kinds of incidents happening repeatedly because companies don’t learn from incidents that happen at other plants.
“We’re concerned the next time there is a massive explosion and debris is strewn we will not be so lucky,” she said, noting that in the three similar incidents, the tanks that hold the highest concentration of dangerous hydrofluoric acid were not ruptured by the debris and no one was killed.