Air Products, Jacksonville - Executive Summary |
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Executive Summary Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Jacksonville Ethylene Storage and Fill Plant 1. Accidental release prevention and emergency response policies: At this facility, we store ethylene, and transfer the ethylene into portable cylinders. Ethylene, in the amounts handled by our facility, is considered hazardous by the EPA. It is our policy to adhere to all applicable Federal and state rules and regulations. Air Products manages the safety of the regulated process by means of operating procedures, equipment testing and inspections, safety devices (e.g., alarms, shutdowns, instrumentation, relief devices) inherent in the design of this facility and other controls and systems designed to prevent accidental releases of hazardous chemicals. Safe work practices and training of our personnel supplement the inherent safe design of the plant. Our emergency response program is based upon OSHAs HAZWOPER regulation. The emergency response plan includes procedures for the not ification of the local fire authority and Hazardous Materials unit so that the appropriate measures can be taken by local emergency responders to control accidental releases. This document has been prepared in accordance with the EPAs Risk Management Plan regulation (40 CFR, Part 68). The substances and processes considered during the preparation of this RMP and the scenarios described were selected based on criteria established in the regulation. 2. The stationary source and regulated substances handled: The primary purpose of this facility is the storage of ethylene and the transfer of same into portable cylinders. The ethylene is used by Air Products customers for a variety of applications such as a fuel for heating and metal processing. The ethylene is delivered into the ethylene storage by the ethylene supplier. Portable cylinders are filled individually by weight on a scale. There is no chemical reaction involved. The process is strictly the transfer of a liquefied p etroleum gas from a large storage container into smaller individual portable cylinders. The capacities of the cylinders range from approx. 4 pounds up to 38 pound cylinders. During this process, no products or wastes are either created nor consumed. The regulated substance handled at this facility is the pure, single product, Ethylene, a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which is a flammable gas. The maximum amount of this substance at this facility is: 14,000 pounds of the flammable gas, Ethylene 3. The worst-case release scenario(s) and the alternative release scenario(s), including administrative controls and mitigation measures to limit the distance for each reported scenario: The worst-case scenario (WCS), as defined by the EPA, associated with the Ethylene process at the facility is a catastrophic failure in the storage tubes, resulting in a vapor cloud explosion (VCE). The entire ethylene tube trailer inventory of 14,000 pounds is assumed to be released instantaneously int o the atmosphere at the tube trailer location, ignited, and resulting in a VCE. The maximum distance to the EPA defined flammable endpoint of a 1 psi overpressure wave is 0.196 mile (1035 feet). Although we have active controls directed at preventing such releases and controlling the consequences, no credit for active mitigation measures were taken into account in evaluating this WCS. The alternative case scenario (ACS) for the ethylene at this facility is a vapor cloud explosion resulting from the failure of the transfer hose from the ethylene tube trailer to the stanchion, resulting in a release of 3080 pounds of ethylene at a rate of 308 pounds per minute over a 10 minute release, based on the tube trailer pressure of 1500 psig., and a =" transfer hose. The maximum distance to the EPA defined flammable endpoint of 1% (mi) (C-1) for this ACS is about 0.09 miles (475 feet). 4. The general accidental release prevention program and specific prevention steps: The facility develo ped prevention program elements based on the Federal EPAs Accidental Release Prevention Plan, and OSHAs Process Safety Management (PSM) regulation. This facility was designed and constructed to comply with applicable state and industry codes. 5. Five-year accident history: There have been no accidents involving or accidental releases of flammable gas that resulted in any deaths, injuries, or significant property damage on site, or known off-site deaths, injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place, property damage, or environmental damage. 6. The emergency response program: The facilitys emergency response program is based upon OSHAs HAZWOPER standard. At this site, employees are trained to recognize emergencies and initiate emergency response from outside agencies. They have been trained to OSHAs First Responder Awareness Level. The employees receive annual refresher training in their role in the emergency plan. Emergency response activities have also been coordinated wi th the Jacksonville City Fire Department for fires related to the Ethylene process. Periodic contact with this agency is maintained to review the effectiveness of our emergency procedures. The last inspection held was with the Jacksonville City Fire Department, on 3/31/98 and the site manager met with them again in September 1998. 7. Planned changes to improve safety: The facility resolves recommendations from PHAs and Incident Investigations, some of which may result in modifications to the plant design and operating procedures. |