UPDATE So Cal Gas Playa del Rey Explosion
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Krista L. Phipps Public Affairs Manager 8141 Gulana Ave., SC 9585 Playa Del Rey, CA 90293 310.578.2650 (O) 323.371.0011 (M) [email protected] April 23, 2013 Unplanned Release of Natural Gas and Fire at the Playa Del Rey Storage Facility Dear Neighbor: Below is an update regarding the Unplanned Release of Natural Gas and Fire event which occurred at the Playa Del Rey Storage Facility on January 6, 2013. Investigation of the Incident On January 6, 2013, at 11:42 a.m., while placing the station into injection mode, an over-pressurization of station piping and equipment occurred. The over-pressurization, which lasted approximately seven minutes, caused an unplanned gas release through various pressure safety valve systems. Gas venting from the relief stack ignited, producing a flame over 100 feet high. Gas continued to vent for approximately one hour from leakage that continued to pass through the relief valves due to internal damage sustained from debris in the gas flowing at high velocities. The fire was extinguished at approximately 1:05 p.m., when all of the isolation valves to the pressure safety valves were shut off. No injuries were sustained by employees or the public. There was some damage to station equipment, which has been repaired. Additionally, released residue material was found on some adjacent neighborhood homes and property, which required clean-up remediation and/or replacement. Any damage reported by neighbors has been assessed and addressed where necessary. Investigation of the incident concluded that the cause of the over-pressurization was operator error. A control valve that separates the high pressure injection piping system and the lower pressure withdrawal piping system was manually operated from the closed position to a partially open position. Once the operator realized the error, he closed the valve. Repairs and Inspection Since the incident, all affected piping, equipment and related systems including electrical, instrumentation, controls and pressure safety valves were inspected, repaired and tested to ensure integrity for safe operation. All piping passed the testing.
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So Cal Gas provided this update on the Playa Del Rey explosion from January.
Transcript of UPDATE So Cal Gas Playa del Rey Explosion
Krista L. Phipps
Public Affairs Manager
8141 Gulana Ave., SC 9585
Playa Del Rey, CA 90293
310.578.2650 (O)
323.371.0011 (M)
April 23, 2013 Unplanned Release of Natural Gas and Fire at the Playa Del Rey Storage Facility Dear Neighbor: Below is an update regarding the Unplanned Release of Natural Gas and Fire event which occurred at the Playa Del Rey Storage Facility on January 6, 2013.
Investigation of the Incident
On January 6, 2013, at 11:42 a.m., while placing the station into injection mode, an over-pressurization of station piping and equipment occurred. The over-pressurization, which lasted approximately seven minutes, caused an unplanned gas release through various pressure safety valve systems. Gas venting from the relief stack ignited, producing a flame over 100 feet high. Gas continued to vent for approximately one hour from leakage that continued to pass through the relief valves due to internal damage sustained from debris in the gas flowing at high velocities. The fire was extinguished at approximately 1:05 p.m., when all of the isolation valves to the pressure safety valves were shut off. No injuries were sustained by employees or the public. There was some damage to station equipment, which has been repaired. Additionally, released residue material was found on some adjacent neighborhood homes and property, which required clean-up remediation and/or replacement. Any damage reported by neighbors has been assessed and addressed where necessary. Investigation of the incident concluded that the cause of the over-pressurization was operator error. A control valve that separates the high pressure injection piping system and the lower pressure withdrawal piping system was manually operated from the closed position to a partially open position. Once the operator realized the error, he
closed the valve.
Repairs and Inspection
Since the incident, all affected piping, equipment and related systems including electrical, instrumentation, controls and pressure safety valves were inspected, repaired and tested to ensure integrity for safe operation. All piping passed the testing.
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Samples of the residue emitted were tested. Based on the testing results Southern California Gas Company has concluded this residue material did not pose any environmental or health risks.
Preventing Reoccurrence
To prevent reoccurrence of this incident, the maximum capacity of the station was reduced to eliminate any control valve operations that could cause the gas to flow from the high pressure injection piping system to the lower pressure piping system in injection mode.
Next Steps
Normal operations at the facility have been suspended since the incident occurred. We are now ready to resume operations as of this week. We would like to assure you that we are confident in the safe operation of the Playa Del Rey Facility.
We are here to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to contact me via email at [email protected] or phone at (323)371-0011.
We regret any inconvenience this event may have caused you and we greatly appreciate your patience and understanding while we investigated and addressed this matter. We will continue to work in partnership with the community to maintain a safe environment at this facility.
Sincerely, Krista L. Phipps Public Affairs Manager
