Molten sulfur spills into bayou

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Nobody injured in refinery spill

By KAREN NELSON

klnelson@sunherald.com

PASCAGOULA — A spokesman for Chevron’s Pascagoula Refinery said Tuesday that nobody was injured from fumes or heat when about four tons of molten sulfur spilled from a pipeline Sunday into the water of Bayou Casotte.

There were people in the operating area, but nobody was in the immediate vicinity of the spill.

Steve Renfroe, spokesman for the refinery, said that workers involved in loading the barges have protective equipment for that part of the refinery’s operation.

Sulfur is a byproduct of refining crude oil and Chevron sells it for several uses, including fertilizer. It pipes molten sulfur from the refinery to barges at the company docks on Bayou Casotte for shipping.

At about 11 a.m. Sunday, the pipeline leaked what the company estimated to be four tons of the molten material into the bayou.

Renfroe said the material is dense, so that amount is equal to about two cubic yards.

He said on Tuesday that the pipeline is repaired and back in operation.

The molten sulfur turned to a solid when it hit the water, he said, and sank to the bottom of the bayou. He said the company had divers on the scene Tuesday and plans to remove the hardened material from the bayou.

“We’re preparing to send divers to investigate the bottom,” he said. “It’s our intention to remove any sulfur that we can find.”

Robbie Wilbur, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality, said the DEQ did not go to the spill on Sunday, but contacted Chevron by phone.

“Chevron will send us an accidental release report in a letter. We’re waiting on that,” Wilbur said.

He said the material spilled “is not hazardous to wildlife or fish or people.”

But the company must clean up the spilled sulfur as it impacts the waters of the state, he said.