STRATUS SAFETY PORTAL » system

Hose Failure on a Groundwater Extraction System

Administrator — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:15:42 +0000

At 4:14 am on August 25, 2010, the clerk at USA 234 (Santa Ana) called the Stratus emergency phone number to report water spraying from the groundwater treatment system compound. Stratus staff received the call from the emergency phone number, and Stratus was on site at approximately 4:45 am. Stratus observed approximately 5 gallons of water on the concrete paving east of the compound, but no water from the system was observed to have flowed off-site. The system was immediatly shut down at the main power supply. Additional staff arrived at 4:55 am, the compound was unlocked and the concrete inside was found to be damp but there was no ponded water. An obvious source of the leak could not initially be identified. The system was temporarily reactivated, and a pinhole leak was discovered in the process hose at the outlet of the manifold (between the manifold and the inlet of the first carbon vessel). The system was then shut down and lock out/tag out (LOTO) was applied pending replacement of the damaged hose.

Additional details can be read through the secure login under the Incident and Near Miss Projects.

Incident-Release from Groundwater Extraction System

Administrator — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:06:38 +0000

At 9:35 the morning of June 24, 2010, Stratus was notified via the emergency phone number that water was leaking from the groundwater treatment system compound at ARCO 6160.At 10:00 am Stratus personnel were on-site to turn the power off to the remediation compound and stop the pumping of any additional groundwater. Initial observations indicated water leaking from the secondary containment berm, however, no overflow conditions or releases were evident with the equipment. A vacuum truck was on-site by 11:45 to remove residual water in and around the compound.

Additional details can be read through the secure login under the Incident and Near Miss Projects.

Near Miss-Gas Line Leak at SVE Site

Administrator — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:00:40 +0000

The morning of March 4, 2010, the Stratus technician was preparing for a site meeting at ARCO 154 (Torrance) and smell gas outside the remedial compound. During the day of the observed conditions, the SVE system was offline awaiting parts. The technician began applying soapy water to the gas line fittings and to The Gas Company supplied gas meter and line. The technician discovered that one of the two union fittings atop the gas meter was leaking. The supply line valve upstream of the gas meter was immediately closed, and the leak was verified to be stopped. The technician immediately called The Gas Company to report the leak and schedule an inspection.

A representative from The Gas Company arrived at the site and confirmed one of the unions (upstream of the meter) was leaking and that both of the fittings “were not very tight”. The Gas Co. inspected the gaskets integral to the unions and found that one of gaskets had been pinched and deformed during the meter installation by The Gas Company. Both gaskets were replaced, the unions were correctly tightened, and the repair verified by The Gas Company.

Based on the condition, Stratus plans to accelerate our routine (annual interval) site inspections to verify the integrity of individual remedial systems.

Additional details can be read through the secure login under the Incident and Near Miss Projects.