What Caused the Explosion in Shell Co. in Deer Park, Texas

Credit: 7 PDH Hours
Course Fee: $105.00
Pages: 83

How it Work!

  1. Register first and log into your account. Study and take the quiz for FREE until passed.
  2. After passing the quiz, follow the page, pay for the course and print your certificate.

Course Summary

On Sunday, June 22, 1997, at approximately 10:07 a.m. Central Daylight Time, a violent explosion and large fire occurred at the Shell Chemical Company plant in Deer Park, Texas. The explosion was felt and heard over ten miles away, and the ensuing fire burned for approximately 10 hours. As a result of the explosion and fire, extensive damage occurred to the facility, and several workers received minor injuries. Nearby residential property was damaged. Major transportation routes adjacent to the facility were closed for several hours, and nearby residents were advised to remain indoors.

Under the terms of the EPA/OSHA Memorandum of Understanding for Chemical Accident Investigations, a joint chemical accident investigation team (JCAIT) was formed to investigate the accident and determine its root causes. A concurrent enforcement investigation was done by OSHA to determine if any violations of occupational safety and health laws had occurred.

Learning Objectives

The JCAIT determined that the immediate cause of the accident was the internal structural failure and drive shaft blow-out of a 36-inch diameter pneumatically-assisted Clow Model GMZ check (non-return) valve. The valve was located on a high-pressure light hydrocarbon gas line installed in the process gas compression (PGC) system of Olefins Plant Number III (OP-III). The check valve’s failure started a large flammable gas leak. The escaping gas formed a vapor cloud and eventually ignited, resulting in an unconfined vapor cloud explosion.

The learning objective of this course is, what lead to the above conclusion.

Course Author

EPA/OSHA

Review the quiz before studying the course.

Certificate of completion of the course

This course comes with a multiple-choice quiz. You can view the quiz and take the quiz if you are logged in your account. You can take the quiz for this online PDH course as many times until passed. The passing grade is 70% and above. After you pass the quiz simply follow the page, to pay for the course and print your certificate instantly. A copy of the certificate and receipt for this course will always be in your account.

Acrobat Reader is required to view this document. Click here to download a free copy of Acrobat Reader.

This online PDH course can also be used as a continuing education course for the following.

Mechanical Engineering

Oil & Gas and Petrochemical Engineering