United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region VI
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

At approximately 0900 hours on 12 June 2006, a lighting strike ignited the contents of a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulated enclosed breakout tank (Tank 373) containing 123,000 barrels of unleaded gasoline. The breakout tank is owned by Explorer Pipeline, the potential responsible party (PRP), and is located near the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and 126th Street in Glenpool, Tulsa County, Oklahoma. The National Response Center (NRC# 800352) notified U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Response and Prevention Branch (EPA-RPB) about the incident at 0949 hours on 12 June 2006. According to the PRP, the unleaded gasoline is retained within the fire-affected, breakout tank, which is situated in a bermed (233,000 barrel capacity secondary containment) breakout battery.  The associated pipeline and nearby power lines have been deactivated.

PRP-led emergency response personnel (Explorer and Sunoco emergency response teams) and Glenpool, Jenks, Bixby, and Tulsa Fire Departments responded to the incident to conduct cooling operations on adjacent tanks while simultaneously draining Tank 373. DOT and State of Oklahoma regulatory officials, local law enforcement, and media representatives also mobilized to the incident scene. EPA arrived at the incident location at 1430 hours.

Local officials ordered an evacuation of residences on 126th , in close proximity to the fire. Additional residents within 1-mile of the facility have been ordered to shelter-in-place. No injuries have been reported. An ecologically sensitive area is located approximately 1.25 miles southeast of the facility. Winds were blowing from the south at 9 miles per hour (mph) at the time of the incident. Winds have been variable in speed and direction.

At 1815 hours on 12 June 2006, firefighting emergency response personnel began applying AR-AFFF foam additive (1% in solution) mixed with water to Tank 373. By 2015 hours, 4,770 gallons of foam additive had been utilized and the fire was controlled and mostly extinguished. EPA representatives continued air monitoring within  residential neighborhoods along the plume pathway. According to air monitoring results, no concentrations of hazardous chemicals were detected above background levels in residential areas downwind of the facility.  

All foam additive and water runoff generated through firefighting and tank cooling activities is contained within secondary containment at Tank 373.

EPA and EPA representatives left the scene at 2020 hours. Firefighting personnel will remain overnight until the fire is completely extinguished.

PRP-led contractors will recover the foam and water mixture from the secondary containment by pumping into vacuum trucks and then transferring into fractionation tanks. EPA will return to the incident location in the morning to evaluate current site conditions.

No gasoline migrated into local streams.