Sulfuric acid tank explosion
On July 17, 2001, a 415,000-gallon tank at the Refinery exploded from a spark from carbon-arc welding while holding spent sulfuric acid—a mix of sulfuric acid, water, and hydrocarbons. The explosion resulted in the death of one worker and injuries to others. Over one million gallons of sulfuric acid were released from the tank area, with approximately 100,000 gallons spilling into the Delaware River, leading to the deaths of an estimated 2,400 fish and 240 crabs. The incident was subject to a year-long investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. The repost found that (excerpted):Motiva did not have rules to limit high-temperature cutting (welding) that could generate molten metal and sparks from being performed directly above a corroded hazardous storage tank that had holes in its roof and shell and was known to contain flammable vapors. The incident likely would have been prevented if safety management processes had been adequately implemented. Motiva did not consider the tank farm to be covered by the requirements of the OSHA Process Safety Management Standard, which sets safety standards for various chemical operations. The Board recommended that OSHA take steps to include such tanks farms under its regulatory system going forward. There were three root causes of the tragic accident. 1) the company did not have an adequate mechanical integrity management system, 2) there was an inadequate system for managing engineering, and 3) the hot work program was inadequate.In 2005, Motiva pleaded guilty to the incident and negligently endangering workers at its former refinery. It was sentenced with a $10 million criminal fine and three years of probation. In addition, Motiva agreed to a $12 million settlement for a joint federal-state civil lawsuit due to the explosion. The settlement covered civil penalties, environmental projects, and reimbursement for response costs. Motiva will also funded environmental projects worth over $4 million. Valero, the refinery's next owner, then implemented additional safety measures costing $7.5 million to prevent another incident similar to the Sulfuric Acid Tank explosion. The total settlement, valued at nearly $23.7 million, resolves claims under various federal and state environmental laws, making it one of the largest settlements for such violations in Delaware. The family of the 50-year oil boilermaker who was killed in the incident sued Motiva for its culpability. They won a $36.4 million settlement in 2003.
Units
According to PBF's filings with the US DOE's Energy Information Agency, the unit capacities for the Delaware City Refinery are presented below: Both the fluid coker and the FCC regenerator have independent wet gas scrubbers that were installed for about $200 million per unit in 2005 according to Valero's refinery tour presentation. The refinery is highly complex with a Nelson Complexity Index of 13.6. In 2020, due to the impact of COVID on the business causing serious financial distress, PBF sold the hydrogen plant at Delaware City to Air Products and Chemicals. The sale was part of a 3-refinery hydrogen plant transaction and netted $530 million for PBF.Emissions performance
As a major emitting facility, The PBF Delaware City Refinery and Petrochemical Site must report its complete greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA every year subject to the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.Permits
Other
The refinery is active in its community and donated $218,000 to charities and non-profits in 2023. In 2021, the refinery fundraiser generated $140,000 for donation to 16 local charities.References
{{reflist Energy infrastructure completed in 1956 Delaware City, Delaware Oil refineries in the United States Energy infrastructure in Delaware Buildings and structures in New Castle County, Delaware