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ExxonMobil lacked adequate process safety at refinery By Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN Hydrocarbon leakage and inadequate process safety management led to an explosion at this California refinery, CSB says. CSB称，油气泄漏和工艺安全管理的不足导致了加利福尼亚炼油厂的爆炸。 Credit: CSB 美国化学安全委员会称风险管理的漏洞导致了爆炸 美国化学安全委员会（CSB）在报告中提到，基本工艺安全管理的错误（所有美国炼油厂的一些共同现象）导致了位于加利福利亚托伦斯的埃克森美孚炼油厂2015年事故的发生。 CSB主席Vanessa Allen Sutherland说，埃克森美孚炼油厂缺乏恰当的风险管理制度，这意味着“工人们基本上是盲目地在运行每个工艺单元。” 事故造成四名工人受伤，无人重伤。爆炸造成碎片横飞，一些盛装氢氟酸（HF）的桶从天而降。许多炼油厂在烷基化的工艺中都在使用剧毒的氢氟酸。 爆炸发生在静电除尘器上，这是炼油厂空气污染控制系统的一部分。CSB确认，未被检测到的碳氢化合物通过流体催化裂解装置的管道发生回流，并在除尘器中被点燃。报告称，在事故发生时，埃克森美孚炼油厂已经关闭该裂解装置，计划对其进行维修，但是埃克森美孚炼油厂并没有将其与其他设备有效隔离。 CSB说，埃克森美孚炼油厂缺乏可以标志油气泄漏的碳氢化合物检测设备。CSB补充道，这种检测设备的缺乏是一个全行业问题。 事故关停了炼油厂，削减了一年多的产量。事故还加剧了附近约15万居民的担忧。 在美国，约150家炼油厂中的近三分之一都在使用氢氟酸。即使在极低浓度下，它也会造成人员伤害或致命。 CSB还在调查如果碎片击中了盛氢氟酸的桶会造成的潜在影响。然而，埃克森美孚公司最近却将炼油厂出售给了BPF控股公司，并隐瞒了CSB需要的信息，称这种调查超出了委员会的权限。 埃克森美孚告诉C&EN，没有证据表明此次事件会给社会带来任何风险。此起事故和2015年以来的其他四次事故之后，加利福利亚地区的监管机构已经展开了一项关于在炼油厂更换氢氟酸的研究。他们的目标是在年底前公布其研究结果。 （本文经《化学与工程新闻》（美国化学学会）许可转载。文章于2017年5月8日首次发表。） U.S. Chemical Safety Board says gaps in risk management led to blast Fundamental process safety management errors—some common to all U.S. refineries—led to a 2015 accident at an ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, Calif., says a May 3 report from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. ExxonMobil’s lack of proper protocol to manage risk meant “workers were essentially running the unit blind,” says CSB Chairwoman Vanessa Allen Sutherland. The accident injured four workers, none seriously. The explosion sent debris flying, with some landing near tanks of hydrofluoric acid (HF). Many refineries use this highly toxic chemical in the alkylation process. The explosion occurred in the electrostatic precipitator, part of the refinery’s air pollution control system. Undetected hydrocarbons back-flowed through piping from the fluid catalytic cracking unit and ignited in the precipitator, CSB determined. At the time of the incident, the cracking unit was shut down for planned maintenance but was not sufficiently isolated from the rest of the facility, the report says. The refinery lacked hydrocarbon detection equipment that might have flagged the leak, CSB says. The absence of such equipment is an industry-wide problem, it adds. The accident shut down the refinery and cut output for more than a year. It also heightened fears of some 150,000 nearby residents. HF is used in about one-third of the some 150 refineries in the U.S. It can seriously injure or kill even in small concentrations. CSB is also investigating the potential impact if debris had hit the HF storage tanks. However, ExxonMobil, which recently sold the refinery to PBF Energy, has withheld the information CSB asked for, saying this aspect of the probe exceeds board’s authority. The company tells C&EN there is no evidence the incident posed any risk to the community. Following this incident and four others since the 2015 accident, regional regulators in California have launched a study to consider substitutes for HF at refineries. They are aiming to release their findings by year’s end. This article is reproduced with permission from Chemical & Engineering News (© American Chemical Society). The article was first published on May 8, 2017. 来源：ACS美国化学会 |
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