Corroded pipe a factor in massive Pa. refinery blast
An update released yesterday by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) into its investigation of an explosion and fire at a Philadelphia refinery earlier this year says the incident began with a pipe elbow that had corroded to about half the thickness of a credit card.
According to the CSB’s factual update, the June 21 explosion and fire at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) Refinery began when that pipe elbow ruptured in the refinery’s alkylation unit, releasing process fluid that included over 5,000 pounds of hydrofluoric acid, or HF. The leaking process fluid formed a large ground-hugging vapor cloud. Two minutes later, the cloud ignited, causing a massive fire and explosions.