texas city tx

7/28/2019 Texas City TX

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Texas City, TX

Amanda Engler


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Texas City, Texas

Explosions andtragedy a way of lifein Texas city

BP oil refinery inTexas City

March 24, 2005 was itpreventable?


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April 16, 1947

The port of opportunity Thriving community Chemical plants and refineries provided good jobs

The Grandcamp was at the port loaded with oil-field machinery drill stems Peanuts

sisal twine small-arms ammunition ammonium nitrate fertilizer


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The fire

The ship caught on fire shortly after 8:00AM

The smoke was a peach color Many people from the town came to watch

8:45 AM the fire department came Ship hatch had blown off

Fire was too hot to put out with water

The fire could not be controlled


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9:12 AM the ship exploded

Heard from 150 miles away The sky appeared as if it was on fire

Mushroom cloud rose 2,000 feetA tidal wave swept people away Heavy debris flew thousands of feet 1.5 ton anchor flew 2 miles Secondary explosions were ignited


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The explosion


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The Grandcamp's propeller shaft


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Tidal wave damage


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Secondary explosion at a refinery


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The High Flyer

In the port that day for repair Loaded with fertilizer

Damaged by the first explosion Tried to move the ship away from shore Flames were spotted

The alarm was sounded Exploded at 1:00 AM More secondary explosions


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The aftermath

Death toll 576 people 5,000 injured

Broken bones

Lost limbs

Thousands of homes destroyed Local churches and businesses goneArea refineries destroyed


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The recovery

People opened their homes to thosewhos had been destroyed.

Many major industries pledged to

rebuild Received $1 million in relief funds Received $4 million in insurance

payments

Sunday, June 22, 1947, a day ofclosure


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Industry changes

Improved disaster preparedness

Ports evaluated their safety procedures

Community Awareness Response inEmergencies (CARE)


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BP oil refinery Texas City

Constructed in 1934

BPs largest refinery at 1,200 acres

Third largest in the nation

1,600 employees Worlds most complex refinery


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A history of accidents

October 1988 fire halted operations in theisomerization unit

April 6, 1992 leak of flammable liquids explodesseverely burning an employee, he died 15 dayslater

July, 1995 another explosion, no one injured

April 19, 1999, 50 pounds of hydrogen ignited,worker suffered second degree burns


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History continued

August 2000, fire in cooker unit, 20 peopleescaped without injury

March 30, 2004, explosion and fire, no oneinjured, OSHA found 14 safety violations Sept. 2, 2004, three men exposed to

superheated steam, two died

March 23, 2005, explosion in isomerization unitkills 15, over 100 injured


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March 23, 2005


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Where it happened?

Isomerization Unit Converts low octane

feeds to higher octanecomponents

Feed octane isbetween 67-70

Product octane isbetween 83-85


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The isomerization unit

RaffinateSplitter

Hydrotreater

Nonaromaticstream

Heavyraffinate

Lightraffinate

SulfurNitrogen

Isomerization

Reactor

VaporRecovery Unit

FinalProduct


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What happened?

Unit was shutdown Explosion happened during the restart

Vapor and liquids shot out of a ventilationstack Truck may have provided the spark for the

explosion Explosion was felt in buildings up to 5miles away


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Was it preventable? A closer look

The vent stack Used as pressure relieve from fluids and gas buildup in theisomerization unit

The industry norm is to use a flare for this

The American Petroleum Institute says that vent stacks

are old technology and are slowly being phased out 1992 OSHA citing

The equipment at the center of the blast allowed toxic gases tovent to the atmosphere ... thus exposing employees toflammable or toxic gases."

OSHA recommended that the unit should be reconfigured so thevapors went to a flare or air monitors should be installed on theunit


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Could the death toll have been less severe?Trailer placement

11 of 15 were in a portable trailer 100 to 150feet from vent stack "People who were injured or suffered fatalities had

nothing to do with that unit," said Charles Ramirez, asafety representative for contractor JE Merit.

Other industry leaders place trailers as far away fromequipment as possible

BP's own 2001 internal form for siting trailers - a 31-point checklist - set a threshold of 350 feet between

trailers and refining units or else a special riskanalysis must be performed.

Two blast-proof control rooms at the siteseemed to have suffered minimal damage


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What can we take away from

this tragedy?Questions/Comments


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References The Explosion 50 years later, Texas City still remembers,

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/metropolitan/txcity/phoenix.html

Investigation Into Plant Explosion That Killed 15 Under Way,US NewsMarch 24, 2005.

FBI rules out terrorism in plant explosion,US News, March 25, 2005. Fiegel, Eric, Death toll in refinery blast rises to 15,US News, March 24,

2005. Moran, Kevin, 15th body pulled from refinery rubble,Houston Chronicle,

2005. BP EXPLOSION; LOCATION OF TRAILER DIDN'T MEET GUIDELINES;

Mobile office at refinery was too close to stack, Houston Chronicle, April10, 2005.

THE BP EXPLOSION; Refineries under stricter rules overseas; Laws in theU.S. do much less to protect workers than those in Great Britain ,HoustonChronicle, April 5, 2005.

Idling engine may have set off BP explosion; Witnesses claim the drivertried to turn off the truck during vapor vent,Houston Chronicle, April 1,2005.

Ignition, hydrocarbon release likely explosion cause,The Associated PressState & Local Wire , March 30, 2005.

Volatile liquid distilling device may be cause of refinery blast,Houston

Chronicle, March 27, 2005.
http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/metropolitan/txcity/phoenix.htmlhttp://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/metropolitan/txcity/phoenix.htmlhttp://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/metropolitan/txcity/phoenix.html


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References Continued

Two-inch error killed two BP workers in 2004, report shows,TheAssociated Press State & Local Wire, March 26, 2005. Explosions and tragedy a way of life in Texas city,The Associated

Press State & Local Wire, March 24, 2005. Facility has costly history; Past incidents have cost owners millions in OSHA

fines and lawsuit settlements,The Houston Chronicle, March 24, 2005. OSHA faulted BPfor unrepaired Texas City chemical leak,The Associated

Press State & Local Wire,April 13, 2005. Probe is closing in on BP blast's cause; The refinery's computer records are

being analyzed,The Houston Chronicle,April 14, 2005. Other accidents happened at Texas Cityrefinery unit,The Associated

Press State & Local Wire,April 11, 2005. Fatal industrial accidentsin Texas,The Associated Press State & Local

Wire, March 23, 2005. Texas City,Texas, Gasoline Refinery Returns to 'Near Normal' after BlazeThe Houston Chronicle,April 1, 2004.

OSHA issued warning about dangerous ventilation stack in 1992,The Houston Chronicle,April 8, 2004.

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