UNOCAL Dock No. 1; Port Neches, Texas

Port Neches, Texas | 1993-Apr-20

Initial Notification: At 0853 on April 20, 1993, a watchman making early morning rounds reported a crude oil spill at the UNOCAL Neches River facility to the USCG MSO Port Arthur. Pollution investigators confirmed the spill and overflight personnel reported that a marsh to the east of the spill site had been impacted. UNOCAL initially reported that 100 barrels had been released, but USCG overflight personnel estimated the spill at 1,000 barrels. The final calculation by UNOCAL was 2,100 barrels. The spill location was boomed and UNOCAL hired four contractors to cleanup the marsh. The cause of the spill may have been valve failure while crude was being transferred from a holding tank on the facility to an off-site tank. Reports indicated that the transfer may have been switched to an inappropriate pipeline, which subsequently overflowed. There were no alarms on the system. UNOCAL immediately accepted responsibility for the incident and the cleanup of the impacted river banks and marsh. Cleanup activities were monitored by MSO Port Arthur until April 25, 1993, when the FOSC turned final oversight function over to Texas General Land Office personnel. USCG district 8. Keyword: skimmers.