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Utah http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705359944/Woods-Cross-refinery-not-read y-to-start-up.html Woods Cross refinery not ready to start up By Joseph M. Dougherty Deseret News WOODS CROSS =97 Silver Eagle will not start refining at its Woods Cross operation Jan. 31. The date had been a target for the embattled refinery, which suffered a flash fire in January 2009 and a hydrogen explosion in November, to start up one of its low-pressure, low-risk units. Crude Unit No. 1 was not involved in the November explosion, which happened at the refinery's nearby Mobil Distillate Dewaxing unit when a pipe carrying hydrogen gas leaked and exploded, damaging nearby homes. The refinery hasn't touched the dewaxing unit since the explosion. Red caution tape surrounds the unit because investigations are ongoing. Insulation sags around one column, and scorch marks are visible up the side of the unit's reactor. What's left of a windsock hangs limp and shredded from the top. Because the refinery has been losing about $800,000 a day since it shut down on the recommendation of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board and regulators, officials are anxious to get operations going again, but only when they can do it safely, said Mike Redd, Silver Eagle Refining's vice president of refining and operations. To get ready, the refinery has set up a list of protocols it will follow to safely restart. "We will not start up until we have completed the protocol (and) ensured the equipment is fit for service," Redd said Wednesday during an open house that allowed residents to tour the refinery by bus and meet with insurance adjusters. The decision not to go ahead with a startup Sunday helped some residents gain more trust in the refinery. Sara Marchant, who moved into the neighborhood across from the refinery in July, said her home suffered cosmetic damage in the explosion, and the refinery's insurance company has been slow to respond. That looks bad for the refinery, Marchant said. But hearing Wednesday night that the refinery isn't going to start up, "that was very comforting," she said. "They earned a lot of trust from me." One of the keys to starting up again will be getting a signature from Brian Gibbs of ABS Consulting, one of a variety of consultants the refinery has hired. Redd said the company will be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on consulting work alone. === West Virginia http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/2010/01/24/as-safety-check-begins-dupo nt-reports-4th-incident/ As =92safety check=92 begins, DuPont reports 4th incident by Ken Ward Jr. As officials at DuPont Co. were announcing plans last night for a =93safety check=94 of their Belle, W.Va., chemical plant, they also were dealing with their 4th incident in just the last two days. DuPont reported to Kanawha County emergency officials that they had a =93small electrical fire on a pump tank=94 containing oleum, according to Metro 911 Director Carolyn Charnock. Oleum is sulfuric acid, the same chemical involved in one of three previous events reported at the Belle plant Friday and Saturday. The fire was reported at 7:48 p.m., after DuPont had announced plans to shut down much of its manufacturing processes at Belle for a =93safety check=94 because of the three previous incidents, which included a 1,900-pound leak of toxic and flammable methyl chloride that went undetected by plant officials for nearly a week. A few minutes after reporting the fire, DuPont told Metro 911 that the fire was out and =93nothing leaked,=94 Charnock said this morning. Updated: Here=92s a statement from DuPont about this incident - Saturday evening at approximately 7:40PM an operator in the Spent Acid Recovery process was conducting an inspection as part of the safety stand-down when he observed electrical arcing on wiring going to an outdoor light. The shift electrician, who is part of our response team, responded to the scene and immediately pulled the breaker at a lighting panel which in turn shut off the power supply to this outdoor light. The operator pulled the fire alarm as part of our standard protocol when something like this is observed in order to get responders to the scene. At no time was there a fire during this incident. Gibbs said his company has an international reputation it doesn't take lightly. "We simply tell it like it is," he said. And so far, he credits the refinery with a commitment to make things right. "They are very, very conservative," Gibbs said, citing an example where a pipe was noted with recommendation to be replaced in a couple of years. "We'll deal with it now," came the refinery's reply, he said. Gibbs said he is on the team helping the refinery develop its mechanical integrity program, which the CSB said in November was not robust enough. The new program will be built from the ground up to make sure it's efficient and effective, Gibbs said. About 50 residents attended Wednesday's open house, compared with 160 who attended the first Woods Cross City Council meeting following the explosion.
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