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Web Date: August 15, 2012 COLLECTIONS
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Chevron Refinery Fire (/business/start-

ups/10-Start-Ups-
TOPICSPlant
 Accident: Thousands of Richmond, Calif., residents are ordered to
Watch/96/i44)
shelter-in-place following five-hour blaze
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By Jeff Johnson
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Analytical Career Ladder (CSB) announced
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Chemistry on Aug. 11 that it(/sections/career-
will mount a full investigation of
(/topics/analytical- an accident and ladder.html)
fire that occurred at Chevron’s
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Richmond, Calif., refinery
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Eight days after a fire at the(/magazine/all-
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Chevron refinery in Richmond,
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Calif., CSB investigators remain Profiles
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unable to enter the work site (/sections/profiles.html)
Chemistry
because of extensive structural The Safety Zone
(/topics/physical- blog
damage. The incident is one of
chemistry.html) (http://cenblog.org/)
five refinery accidents currently
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begin investigated by CSB.
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Research chemistry.html)
Integrity Speaking of
<http://richmond.chevron.com/home/news/incidentresponse.aspx> , located 10
(/topics/research- Chemistry
miles north of San Francisco.
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Safety Talented Twelve
The Aug. 6 fire resulted in a five-hour shelter-in-place order for several thousand people living
(/topics/safety.html) (/people/profiles/CENs-
near the Contra Costa County refinery as well as hospital visits by 9,035 anxious residents
Synthesis Talented-12/96/i33)
complaining of respiratory ailments, according to Contra Costa County’s Health Services
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Department. Although a dozen workers were in the immediate area of the accident, only
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three were injured, according to Chevron <http://cchealth.org/special/richmond-
(/topics/acs- C&EN en Español
refinery-response.php> , and none of those injuries were (/sections/espanol.html)
news.html) serious. The fire, however,
shuttered much of the 2,900-acre Chevron refinery, the city’s largest
C&EN employer and the Bay
in Chinese
Area’s largest refinery, which processes 240,000 barrels of(/sections/cn.html)
crude oil daily.
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Gasoline prices in the state have increased since the fire, but the exact cause of the price
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increase is unclear. The facility supplies some 15% of the California gasoline market.
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Investigators with CSB as well as state and county officials have been unable to enter the
specific area where the accident and fire took place because of structural instability, says
Daniel M. Horowitz, CSB’s managing director. The fire occurred when a combustible, heavy
https://cen.acs.org/articles/90/web/2012/08/Chemical-Safety-Board-Investigates-Chevron.html 1/4
 5/4/2019 hydrocarbonChemical
liquid known
SafetyasBoard
“gas-oil” leaked from
Investigates an 8-inch
Chevron pipe
Refinery connected
Fire to&aEngineering
| Chemical crude oil News
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distillation tower in the refinery’s crude unit, according to CSB.
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The exact cause of the leak and why Chevron process management oversight did not
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determine the need to take action before the accident occurred will be included in CSB’s
root-cause investigation. 10 Start-ups to
Watch
Workers initially noticed the leak around 4 PM local time and they were attempting repairs
(/business/start-
on piping connected to the still-operating crude-oil distillation tower when the leak began to
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
larger. Around 6 PM—due to the high temperature of the material in the tower, which
Watch/96/i44)
was in excess of 600° F—the gas-oil material formed a largeBench & Cubicle
flammable vapor cloud, ignited,
(/sections/bench-
TOPICSand migrated off site. cubicle.html)
Analytical Career
In November 2011, because of excessive corrosion, Chevron Ladder
replaced a 12-inch pipe that
Chemistry (/sections/career-
was connected to the smaller pipe that leaked. Why the smaller pipe was not replaced at that
(/topics/analytical- ladder.html)
time will be a key part of CSB’s investigation, according to the board. The unit that caught fire
chemistry.html) Celebrating
is the sole entry point for crude oil in the refining process, says CSB. the
Biological Periodic Table
Chemistry (/sections/IYPT.html)
A Chevron official says the crude unit is temporarily shut down because of the incident, but
(/topics/biological-
other parts of the refinery unaffected by the incident remainChemistry
operating.inThe plant continues
chemistry.html) Pictures
to make some transportation fuels, Chevron says, but at a reduced capacity.
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Rudy Caparros (December 18, 2012 3:14 PM)
HazMat Experts and Firefighters petition Dow Chemical and Union Pacific for safe rail tank cars transporting gas chlorine. Secondary containment is a necessary
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