Incidenthistorical
PHMSA Report 20140002
WILLIAMS PARTNERS OPERATING LLC — Liquefied natural gas (LNG) — incident on 2014-03-31
Current as of 2014-03-31 Government source
RegulusPipeline researchRegulusPipeline researchPHMSA Report 20140002
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) incident in WA. Reported cause: INCORRECT OPERATION. Reported consequences: 0 fatalities, 1 injuries, 14000 NATURAL GAS WHILE BEING HANDLED IN GASEOUS PHASE released, $40,790,000 reported property damage. Operator-reported incident data submitted to PHMSA, generally within 30 days. Records may be supplemented or corrected and do not represent final agency causal findings.
Report number: 20140002.
Operator ID: 39054.
Reported incident date: 3/31/2014 8:19.
Cause detail: OTHER INCORRECT OPERATION
Cause detail: AT APPROXIMATELY 08:19 PDT THE PLYMOUTH LNG FACILITY EXPERIENCED AN INTERNAL DETONATION RESULTING IN RAPID OVERPRESSURE AND SUBSEQUENT FAILURE OF PORTIONS OF THE LNG1 PURIFICATION AND REGENERATION SYSTEM, INCLUDING IN PLANT PIPING AND AN ADSORBER VESSEL, CAUSING DAMAGE TO ADJACENT BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT. DEBRIS FROM THE RUPTURE PENETRATED THE OUTER WALL OF ONE OF TWO LNG STORAGE TANKS. NATURAL GAS VENTED FROM THE VAPOR SPACE BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER WALLS OF THE STORAGE TANK BUT DID NOT IGNITE. STATION PERSONNEL IMMEDIATELY EXECUTED AN ESD OF THE FACILITY. OF 5 EMPLOYEES TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL FOR EVALUATION, 4 EMPLOYEES WERE TREATED AND RELEASED AND 1 EMPLOYEE WAS ADMITTED FOR BURN INJURIES AND RELEASED SEVERAL DAYS LATER. A THIRD PARTY INVESTIGATION FIRM WAS CONTRACTED TO DOCUMENT THE INCIDENT LOCATION AND MANAGE ALL EVIDENCE. VARIOUS CONSULTANTS WERE ENGAGED IN THE COMPLETION OF AN INCIDENT INVESTIGATION. THE INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THE LEADING CAUSE WAS THE PRESENCE OF A FUEL/AIR MIXTURE REMAINING IN THE SYSTEM FOLLOWING MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES. THE FUEL/AIR MIX THEN AUTO-IGNITED WITHIN THE SYSTEM PIPING UPON STARTUP WHEN THE FLAMMABLE MIXTURE ENTERED THE INLET OF A SALT BATH HEATER.
PHMSA trend classification: significant incident, serious incident.
PHMSA standardized cause: INCORRECT OPERATION — OTHER INCORRECT OPERATION.
PHMSA indexed costs: $46,503,060 reported total cost, $23,735,451.091 in 1984 dollars, $57,809,229.187 in current-year dollars.
PHMSA trend flags, standardized causes, and indexed costs are analytical fields added to operator-reported incident data. They do not represent final agency causal findings.
This material provides agency context. It does not replace binding regulatory text, and its legal effect depends on the underlying authority and facts.