2009年11月4日，在犹他州伍兹克罗斯（Woods Cross）在银鹰炼油厂发生了巨大的爆炸和大火董事会（CSB）今天报道。CSB发布了一份详细的冶金报告，该报告在对事件的持续调查过程中委托。
灾难性破裂发生在动员馏出物脱水单元中反应堆底部的十英寸管道中。它导致了大量氢的释放，该氢立即着火并爆炸，使炼油厂的爆炸波成为一个细分。爆炸波损坏了100多个房屋，其中许多房屋带有破碎的玻璃。其中两个房屋受到严重损坏，其中一所房屋从其基础上流离失所。
爆炸时的过程单位附近有四名工人。他们被炸毁在地，但没有受到严重伤害。另一名工人在释放前仅一到两分钟的管道旁边进行了读数。
The metallurgical failure study and analysis performed for the CSB by Exponent – a Texas-based engineering and scientific consulting company – details findings from laboratory examination of pipe segments recovered after the incident. The report also examines the history of the pipe that ruptured, determining that the component that failed had no record of ever being inspected for corrosion as it thinned over the years.
CSB主席Rafael Moure-Eraso说,“这一发现s in the Exponent report are all too familiar: Mechanical integrity programs at refineries repeatedly primarily emphasize inspection strategies rather than the use of inherently safer design to control the damage mechanisms that ultimately cause major process safety incidents. This is the same syndrome we found in the Bay Area Chevron refinery fire of 2012 and the Tesoro refinery explosion and fire that killed seven in Anacortes, Washington, in 2010. Fortunately, there were no fatalities resulting from the explosion and it was only by chance no one was in the immediate area. But many lives were disrupted as residents in Woods Cross, just north of Salt Lake City, had to move out of homes pending repairs.”
CSB的调查负责人Dan Tillema说：“冶金分析详细介绍了我们在雪佛龙事故中发现的银鹰炼油厂的硫化腐蚀。过程流中的硫化合物腐蚀了钢管段，导致管子壁变得严重薄。该事件也类似于雪佛龙（Chevron），而硫化是需要定期检查和监测的炼油厂的一种众所周知的损害机制，但失败的部分没有任何经历过检查的记录。”
The CSB investigation team notes that the examination of the ruptured pipe segment and adjacent piping clearly indicated wall thinning had occurred in the piping component. The elbow adjacent to the pipe segment that failed was noted to have an original thickness of 0.719-inch. A 2007 thickness measurement of the elbow indicated a wall thickness of 0.483-inch, indicating years of thinning had taken place. The adjacent straight-run segment that failed was found to have a wall thickness as low as 0.039-inch and there were no records of any prvious inspection. The CSB’s investigation previously noted records indicating other serious wide spread mechanical integrity deficiencies and gaps across the refinery at the time of the incident and will address these issues in the final report.
Moure-Eeraso博士说：“这是一项调查，由于具有讽刺意味的是，由于讽刺的是，我们不得不延迟其完成，这是一系列紧迫的石油生产事故和炼油行业。但是，我希望人们知道，正如该报告所表明的那样，工作一直在继续，并且CSB正在努力确保炼油厂，实际上所有化学操作都更安全地进行。”
11月爆炸是当年炼油厂的第二次事故。2009年1月12日晚上，两名炼油厂操作员和两名承包商因闪火而遭受严重烧伤。事故发生在大气储罐中释放出大型易燃蒸气云时，估计包含440,000加仑的轻型石膏。蒸气云发现了一个点火源，随后的闪电燃烧蔓延到坦克农场以西230英尺。
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The agency’s board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.
The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. Visit their website, www.csb.gov.
