The Big Boom

An accidental release of butadiene and benzene from the ethane cracking unit ignited into a fire; the CSB opened a root-cause investigation that is still underway, with no final report yet issued.

During startup of a renewable-diesel hydroprocessing unit, a tube in a fired heater ruptured and released renewable diesel and hydrogen, sparking a fire that seriously burned one employee.

A corroded pipe elbow in the Girard Point HF alkylation unit ruptured, releasing hydrocarbons and about 5,000 lb of hydrofluoric acid that ignited in three explosions; the refinery never reopened.

A failed circulation pump on a naphtha tank released vapors for about 30 minutes before they ignited; the fire spread to 14 other tanks, burned for three days, and caused over $150 million in damage.

An explosion in the fluid catalytic cracking unit released about 39,000 lb of flammable vapor and was followed by a large asphalt fire, injuring 36; the blast threw debris that narrowly missed a tank of hydrogen fluoride.

Operators dismantled a plug valve in the sulfuric-acid alkylation unit while it was still under pressure, releasing about 2,000 lb of isobutane that formed a vapor cloud and ignited.

A failed slide valve in the fluid catalytic cracking unit let hydrocarbons backflow and ignite in the electrostatic precipitator; the explosion scattered catalyst dust up to a mile away, narrowly missing a tank of modified hydrofluoric acid.

A sulfuric-acid release at the alkylation unit, from an inadequately tightened sampling fitting, burned two workers and released an estimated 84,000 lb of acid.

A carbon-steel pipe in the #4 Crude Unit ruptured from sulfidation corrosion, releasing hot gas oil that formed a vapor cloud and ignited; 19 workers escaped and thousands of nearby residents sought medical care.

A 10-inch pipe ruptured from sulfidation corrosion and released hydrogen that exploded, damaging about 100 nearby homes; the same investigation covers a January flash fire that seriously burned four workers.

A control-valve failure caused violent shaking in the HF alkylation unit's recycle piping, breaking pipe connections and releasing hydrocarbons and hydrogen fluoride that ignited into a multi-day fire.

Liquid propane released from a freeze-cracked, out-of-service dead-leg of piping formed a vapor cloud that ignited into a massive fire in the propane deasphalting unit, injuring four.

Gasoline components were released and ignited while workers removed a malfunctioning pump from the HF alkylation unit, seriously injuring six employees.