OILFIELD LIQUID WASTE DISPOSAL
FACILITY
VAPOR CLOUD DEFLAGRATION AND
FIRE
(3 Killed, 4 Injured)
On January 13, 2003, a vapor cloud deflagration and pool fire erupted at the BLSR Operating,
Ltd. (BLSR), facility located 5 miles north of Rosharon, Texas. Two BLSR employees were
killed, and three were seriously burned. Two T&L Environmental Services, Inc. (T&L), truck
drivers, who had just delivered gas condensate storage tank basic sediment and water (BS&W) to
BLSR, were seriously burned; one of these men died on March 2.
The fire was caused by the release of hydrocarbon vapor during the unloading of BS&W from
two vacuum trucks into an open area collection pit. BS&W is an oil/gas exploration and
production (E&P) waste liquid. The fire destroyed two 50-barrel (2,100 gallon) vacuum trucks
and seriously damaged waste liquid offloading equipment and structures at BLSR. One of the
vacuum truck diesel engines was the most likely source of ignition.
The oil and gas industry disposes of many thousands of barrels of E&P waste liquids annually,
including potentially flammable BS&W. Although these liquids are exempt from Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous waste management regulations, they are not exempt
from hazard communication regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) or hazardous material transportation regulations of the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT). Furthermore, E&P waste liquids can have flammability characteristics
that meet the definition of a flammable liquid in both OSHA and DOT regulations, thus posing a
significant physical hazard to personnel.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) found inconsistency within the
industry in managing the potential flammability hazard of BS&W. In some cases, the
flammability hazard is not identified or recognized, and work practices are inadequate for safe
handling of the potentially flammable liquid.
The Board issued recommendations to the companies involved in the incident, the Texas
Railroad Commission, OSHA, DOT, the American Petroleum Institute, and the National Tank
Truck Carriers, Inc.
The full report is available from the CSB web site at:
http://www.csb.gov/completed_investigations/docs/BLSRFinalInvestigationReport.pdf