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CSB Investigation Report No. 2009-01-I-PA 2008 Environmental Environmental Safety Safety
INDSPEC Uncontrolled Oleum Release (Three Towns Evacuated)
INDSPEC Chemical Corporation, Petrolia, Pennsylvania
Related equipment → Storage tank (storage_tank)
0Fatalities
0Injuries
FailureMechanism code ELP
⌗Failure Mode · ISO 14224 Mapping
Damage mechanism (recorded in KB)
FailureELP
ISO functional code (as recorded)
ISO 14224:2016 functional failure code
ELP · External leakage - process
ISO ELP — External leakage - process.
1What Happened

Oleum (fuming sulfuric acid) storage tank transfer released uncontrolled; high-level alarm out of service for months

2Root Cause

Tank level alarm out of service for many months with no periodic test program; uncontrolled oleum release formed an acid cloud — about 2,500 residents evacuated or sheltered in place

3Reliability Lessons (from investigation root cause)
  • The 'Root Cause' above is the core lesson of this accident; not split further.
4Associated Failure Mechanisms (Keywords)
storage tank oleum fuming sulfuric acid release level alarm failure evacuation
About the Failure-Mode Code (click to expand)

The recorded code ELP is an ISO 14224:2016 functional failure code (describes what the equipment failed to do). The damage mechanism (how it failed) is shown in the Mapping block above. The two are distinct dimensions in ISO 14224.

5Evidence Source (transparent)
Authority：U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB)
Official Report：www.csb.gov ↗
Data Verification：verified_url_csb_case_page_curl200
↗Related Failure Modes · Traceability
Bottom Plate Perforation bottom_plate_perforationBottom Weld Crack bottom_weld_crackUnder-deposit Corrosion under_deposit_corrosionShell Thinning shell_thinningWeld Crack weld_crackCorrosion Under Insulation (CUI) cuiRoof Corrosion roof_corrosionFloating Roof Sticking floating_roof_stickingSeal Leak -> VOC Emission seal_leakDifferential Settlement differential_settlementConcrete Crack concrete_crackPad Failure pad_failureFreezing/Sticking freezing_stickingSeat Corrosion seat_corrosionElement Plugging element_pluggingElement Corrosion element_corrosionN2 Supply Loss n2_supply_lossControl Valve Failure control_valve_failureAntenna Fouling antenna_foulingElectronics Failure electronics_failureWire Sticking wire_stickingDisplacer Perforation displacer_perforationContact Corrosion contact_corrosionFloat Sticking float_sticking
Report No. 2009-01-I-PA · Data from CSB public investigation conclusions, compiled by Reliability AI, for reliability demonstration purposes only. This case is derived from public incident investigation reports for learning purposes only. AIM does not endorse or guarantee its accuracy.