(57d) Chevron Richmond Refinery Fire Incident Investigation

On August 6, 2012, a pipe rupture occurred in the #4 Crude Unit at a Chevron refinery in Richmond, California. The incident occurred due to thinning pipe walls from sulfidation corrosion on a 52-inch component on the 8-inch 4-sidecut stream exiting the unit’s C-1100 Crude Unit Atmospheric Column. This rupture caused the release of light gas oil that was partially vaporized into a vapor cloud that ignited two minutes later. All employees engulfed by the vapor cloud were not seriously injured: eighteen due to escape, and one due to fire-fighting protective equipment. However, this incident caused the release of vapor, smoke, and particulates into the surrounding area. Shortcomings in the following Center for Chemical Process Safety Process Safety Management System (CCPS PSM) pillars were found to be related to the incident: asset integrity and reliability, compliance with standards, emergency management, and safety culture. To the refinery, the CCPS gave recommendations to develop an accountability method to track implementation of best practices, develop an auditable process for appealing denied turnaround work items related to inspection and mechanical integrity, and develop an approval process that included a technical review when lowering the Minimum Alert Thickness of a line. Along with the recommendations given by the CCPS, it is recommended to develop a formal leak response protocol, map refineries for high-risk equipment, and communicate safety survey findings to refineries with action steps.