Refinery probe focuses on corrosion
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal investigators probing the cause of a massive Chevron oil refinery fire are focusing on possible corrosion in a decades-old pipe the company inspected late last year.
Investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board said Saturday they are trying to determine why Chevron did not replace the pipe when it had a major five-year inspection last November.
That inspection led Chevron to replace an old pipe connected to the one that failed Monday, catching fire, sending up black smoke and causing thousands to seek medical attention for health issues in one of the most serious U.S. refinery fires in recent years.
Chevron said Saturday it too is seeking to understand why the accident occurred.
"We agree that this is a serious incident that warrants thorough investigation. We are cooperating with all regulatory agencies and are committed to better understanding the root cause of this incident," said Sean Comey, a company spokesman.
The inspectors have not yet seen testing records for the pipe that failed, but given its age and the condition of pipes connected to it, they believe corrosion is a strong possible cause of its failure.
Also, investigators told The Associated Press that more than a dozen Chevron refinery workers were engulfed by vapor and narrowly escaped serious injury when it ignited.
The Richmond refinery, located about 10 miles northeast of San Francisco, produces about 16 percent of the region's daily gasoline supply.
The crude unit where the fire occurred is a key part of the refinery, helping to create a specialized blend of cleaner burning gasoline that satisfies air quality laws in California. On Saturday, the average price for a gallon of regular gas in California was $4.04, up from $3.86 cents Tuesday.
While high crude prices have driven prices up nationwide, the partial loss of production at Chevron's Richmond refinery has also had an effect on driving prices in the state even higher, analysts said.
The incident began Monday at 4:15 p.m., when a small dripping leak was detected by refinery workers. When engineers responded to find the leak's cause, they removed insulation around the pipe. Shortly thereafter, a vapor cloud was released.
"Due to the high temperature of the material in the tower, in excess of 600 degrees Fahrenheit, the gas-oil immediately formed a large flammable vapor cloud," chemical safety board investigators said.
County officials say sirens were activated to warn residents of an accident when the vapor ignited, and the company later alerted county officials.
Chevron's response and Contra Costa County's emergency warning system are being investigated by several agencies, including the federal chemical safety agency.
More than 4,000 people were treated and released at from hospitals in the days following the fire, officials have said. Chevron has set up a claims center for people who were affected, which by Friday had received about 2,000 calls.
Investigators said, in general, all pipes corrode over time.
The pipe that failed Monday dated back to the 1970s, but it is still unclear whether the thickness testing conducted by Chevron in its last major inspections noted corrosion in that specific, 8-inch pipe.
However, investigators said a 12-inch pipe connected to the one that leaked Monday was found to be corroded, and was replaced after the November "turnaround," an industry term for when a refinery unit is taken off-line so all the lines can be inspected.
Dan Tillema, the board's investigative team leader, said "important issues in the investigation included understanding why the pipe that later failed was kept in service during a late 2011 maintenance turnaround."
By choosing not to replace the pipe that failed, he said Chevron had decided that it was strong enough to last another five years, when the next piping inspection would have been conducted, which is the industry standard.
Investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board said Saturday they are trying to determine why Chevron did not replace the pipe when it had a major five-year inspection last November.
That inspection led Chevron to replace an old pipe connected to the one that failed Monday, catching fire, sending up black smoke and causing thousands to seek medical attention for health issues in one of the most serious U.S. refinery fires in recent years.
Chevron said Saturday it too is seeking to understand why the accident occurred.
"We agree that this is a serious incident that warrants thorough investigation. We are cooperating with all regulatory agencies and are committed to better understanding the root cause of this incident," said Sean Comey, a company spokesman.
The inspectors have not yet seen testing records for the pipe that failed, but given its age and the condition of pipes connected to it, they believe corrosion is a strong possible cause of its failure.
Also, investigators told The Associated Press that more than a dozen Chevron refinery workers were engulfed by vapor and narrowly escaped serious injury when it ignited.
The Richmond refinery, located about 10 miles northeast of San Francisco, produces about 16 percent of the region's daily gasoline supply.
The crude unit where the fire occurred is a key part of the refinery, helping to create a specialized blend of cleaner burning gasoline that satisfies air quality laws in California. On Saturday, the average price for a gallon of regular gas in California was $4.04, up from $3.86 cents Tuesday.
While high crude prices have driven prices up nationwide, the partial loss of production at Chevron's Richmond refinery has also had an effect on driving prices in the state even higher, analysts said.
The incident began Monday at 4:15 p.m., when a small dripping leak was detected by refinery workers. When engineers responded to find the leak's cause, they removed insulation around the pipe. Shortly thereafter, a vapor cloud was released.
"Due to the high temperature of the material in the tower, in excess of 600 degrees Fahrenheit, the gas-oil immediately formed a large flammable vapor cloud," chemical safety board investigators said.
County officials say sirens were activated to warn residents of an accident when the vapor ignited, and the company later alerted county officials.
Chevron's response and Contra Costa County's emergency warning system are being investigated by several agencies, including the federal chemical safety agency.
More than 4,000 people were treated and released at from hospitals in the days following the fire, officials have said. Chevron has set up a claims center for people who were affected, which by Friday had received about 2,000 calls.
Investigators said, in general, all pipes corrode over time.
The pipe that failed Monday dated back to the 1970s, but it is still unclear whether the thickness testing conducted by Chevron in its last major inspections noted corrosion in that specific, 8-inch pipe.
However, investigators said a 12-inch pipe connected to the one that leaked Monday was found to be corroded, and was replaced after the November "turnaround," an industry term for when a refinery unit is taken off-line so all the lines can be inspected.
Dan Tillema, the board's investigative team leader, said "important issues in the investigation included understanding why the pipe that later failed was kept in service during a late 2011 maintenance turnaround."
By choosing not to replace the pipe that failed, he said Chevron had decided that it was strong enough to last another five years, when the next piping inspection would have been conducted, which is the industry standard.
Corrosion my foot. They need to focus on the companies neglect and poor care of the facilities and equipment.
The only "corrosion" is in the minds and hearts of the oil investors and the CEO's of the oil companies.
Don't they (Gov't and company) check their equipment regularly !? They must be sleeping on the jobs AGAIN !!!!
I don't get it.They have one fire and the whole country pays out there nose for gas.Same thing happened a while back up in Ferndale or Cherry Point.God I hate oil company's.
It's real typical that absolutely NOTHING will be done to smack these thirty or forty jerks down who continue, as ever, to create tragedy, havoc, death, natural or economic disaster. They get to raise their prices no matter what design, so we should ALL be thankful they just ain't got tired of U.S. yet and pull some really brutal scams again, but all at the same time. See, THAT'S what's coming here. Ask Dick Cheney if there's good money in disasters.
You all can pretty much thank him for this, considering that it's the M.O. he designed. But this is nothing to what's coming, if we KEEP PAYING OUT TO THIS CARPETBAGGER CRAP.
 @FreeCoffeeNow! How about a good ol' fashioned tar and feathering?
Why are they making the consumers pay for their mistake?
 @trvldg Because they are allowed to. Unless you advocate federalizing refineries you will keep on paying out. You know, that whole 'critical infrastructure' thing, where we supposedly try to keep scumbags from getting the upper hand on America?  Â
I think it would be more accurate to say the cause of the refinery fire to be corruption rather than corrosion.
 @EMDF9A Well said.
...Federal investigators probing the cause of a massive Chevron oil refinery fire are focusing on possible corrosion in a decades-old pipe the company inspected late last year. Investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board said Saturday they are trying to determine why Chevron did not replace the pipe when it had a major five-year inspection last November...
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Because some bean counter did the math, handed their math over to a risk analyst, who decided to go against the advice of a 30 year refinery worker because that dumb slob don't got no fancy degree, what he know about pipes and decided not to fix it.
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But don't worry. As you're filling up at near $4.00 a gallon today you can rest assured, that your government will handle this properly, correctly, and firmly, and will issue a $10,000 fine to Chevron for not fixing the pipe.
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By the way, Chevron would like to thank the people of the West coast for their upcoming record profits in the coming quarter.
 @Howard Beale It's the same as the gas lines that leak and explode, killing people and causing millions in damage to private homeowners. They bet on the odds, because it won't cost them all that much when balance against the increases in the cost to the consumer.
 @Howard Beale The reason why they did not replace the pipe is there is no incentive to. They already knew if it failed and caused a fire, it would be replaced for 'free' by consumers paying high prices.
 @Mikefly562 This is a solid scam, no doubt about it.  It's been working like a top so far.