141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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286330
Impact of the explosion and fire at Caribbean petroleum tank terminal in bayamon Puerto Rico


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Vidisha Parasram, MPH EOH, Chemical Incident Investigator, US Chemical Safety Board, Washington, DC
Maria Mazzocchi, Office of Incident Screening, U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, Washington, DC
Christina E. Morgan, MPH, Office of Recommendations, U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, Washington, DC
Background: At On October 23, 2009, normal tank filling operations turned catastrophic when a 5 million gallon atmospheric tank overflowed gasoline for approximately 30 minutes at the Caribbean Petroleum terminal in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. A developing vapor cloud enveloped part of the tank farm and reached the wastewater treatment area where it ignited. The vapor cloud exploded, creating a pressure wave that damaged hundreds of homes and businesses up to 1.25 miles from the site. The fuel in the tanks burned over two days. Neighboring communities were evacuated and oil contaminated the nearby wetlands.

Methods: The U.S. Chemical Safety Board utilized various investigative tools including a logic tree, witness interviews, and an in depth policy analysis to identify the contributing causes that led to the catastrophic explosion. Results: The CSB investigation found a number of safety system deficiencies at the facility, gaps in the regulatory and industry standards addressing overfill prevention, and lack of a risk assessment process contributed to the incident.

Conclusions: The CSB generated recommendations to industry groups, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders to prevent similar incidents.

Learning Areas:

Environmental health sciences
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines

Learning Objectives:
Describe the health and safety issues at tank terminals Analyze the regulatory gaps that contributed to the catastrophic explosion and fire. Analyze emergency response as it relates to community preparedness during catastrophic accidents.

Keyword(s): Safety, Environment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am one of the principal authors of the report and the Lead Investigator of the investigation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4412.1: International Experiences in Health and Safety