Golden Bear Oil Specialties Refinery - Executive Summary |
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY It is the policy of Golden Bear Oil Specialties that the prevention of occupational injuries, environmental harm, and equipment damage will be given priority during the conduct of our business, equal with product manufacturing, quality, and related efforts. Consistent with accepted safety standards, Golden Bear Oil Specialties will provide employees a safe place to work. All line supervisors must share a personal concern to prevent accidental loss, and their performance relative to safety shall be evaluated in their annual review and weighed with other standards in evaluating their promotability. Department Managers in conjunction with their supervisors shall be responsible for the implementation of all safety programs and the maintenance of safe conditions. Under the Department Managers' guidance, the line supervisors shall assure that all new and transferred employees receive appropriate orientation and specialized safety training where required. Golden Bea r Oil Specialties Safety Department will assist. Each employee shall be trained on chemicals specific to their work area. Material Safety Data Sheets are employed in the training, utilizing a written questionnaire to evaluate employee comprehension. Assure that periodic employee meetings are held where safety is the principal agenda subject. Each Golden Bear employee shares in the responsibility for contributing to the establishment of an accident-free environment by following established safety rules and operating procedures, reporting unsafe conditions and accidents to their immediate supervisor and then, if necessary, to the Manager of Safety, and conducting themselves in a way that enhances their personal safety and that of their fellow workers. Management shall assure that a safety policy is established and translated into planning, actions, and appropriate evaluations. Periodic reviews of the program and the maintenance of safe conditions shall be conducted. Golden Bear Oil Specialties Safety Department shall provide guidance and assure coordination of plant programs, assist in the investigation of serious accidents, and in identification and elimination or mitigation of high or frequent loss potential, aid deparments where government regulatory agencies concerned with safety are involved, coordinate safety training of personnel, and report on the status of safety. Golden Bear Oil Specialties Safety Department shall conduct periodic audits of the adequacy and effectiveness of accident prevention programs and physical conditions in each departmnet, and provide appropriate distribution of the identified accomplishments and deficiencies. Golden Bear Oil Specialties is a worldwide supplier of specialty naphthenic lubricating and processing oils and a major supplier of asphalt rejuvenation and dust suppression products. We have a history of top quality products and service for over 60 years. Our goal is to build on Golden Bear's strong history an d create a world-class specialty chemical and petroleum products company. Golden Bear Oil Specialties has a varity of process units to manufactor specialty lubricating and process oils. One of the process units, the Hydro Treating Unit, removes sulfur from the process oil and in the process produces a flammable substance. Approximately one percent of the products the Hydro Treating Unit produces is called "Hydro Tops", a flammable mixture hydrotreated light distillate that contains the regulated substances butane and pentane. "Hydro Tops" is a by-product of the Hydro Treating Unit and is shipped to other oil refineries for blending. The maximum amount of "Hydro Tops" stored at the refinery is 328 barrels containing the regulated substances butane and pentane accounting for 6.67 percent (21.8 barrels). Worst-case release scenario Mitigation: Written operating procedures and high-level alarms prevent more than 328.75 barrels from being present in the 350-barrel tank. The tank has a nitrogen blanket (purge) in the tank vapor space to prevent an explosive mixture. To keep products within specification, a maximum flow rate to the tank is 2.4 barrels per hour, which is continually monitored by operations. OSHA'S Process Safety Management Standard regulates the substance "Hydro Tops". A HAZOP was initiated and completed prior to construction of the "Hydro Tops" project. The project was completed in 1996. There have not been any accidental releases or accidents since start-up of the "Hydro Tops System". The facility has an annual inspection/walk through conducted by the county fire department. There have been joint drills with the refinery's emergency response team and the county fire department. There is site-specific emergency response training. The Incident Command Training is coordinated with the county fire training facility. Key personnel also train in rescue, fire fighting and Incident Command at the University of Nevada, Fire Protection Train ing Academy. Hazardous Material training is coordinated through the California Specialized Training Institute. The refinery is in the process of implementing a new inspection program (RIMS) for refinery inspection and maintenance. RIMS structures the inspection priority and frequency by methods of risk assessment and predictive corrosion and failure control. RIMS indicates how to inspect, maintain, replace, or repair specific refinery equipment and equipment types from piping to vessels. RIMS calculates corrosion rate and corrosion life, together with remaining creep life of equipment. |