A massive fire that injured four workers and caused the total shutdown and evacuation of the Valero McKee Refinery in Sunray, Tex., in February 2007 likely occurred after water leaked through a valve, froze, and cracked an out-of-service section of piping, causing a release of high-pressure liquid propane, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) said in a final investigation report.
The CSB released a new 13-min safety video to accompany the final report, including a 3-D computer-generated animation depicting the accident scenario. The video and more information about the report can be found on the Board’s website, CSB.gov. DVD copies are available free of charge using an online request form.
The CSB’s final report concluded the root causes of the accident were that the refinery did not have an effective program to identify and freeze-protect piping and equipment that was out of service or infrequently used; that the refinery did not apply the company’s policies on emergency isolation valves to control fires; and that current industry and company standards do not recommend sufficient fireproofing of structural steel against jet fires.