Emmber Foods - Executive Summary |
|
ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE POLICIES The owners, management, and employees of Emmber Foods are committed to the prevention of any accidental release of ammonia. Wis-Pak Foods' policy is to adhere to all applicable Federal and State rules and regulations in order to 1) prevent unnecessary human exposure, 2) reduce the threat to employees' health, and 3) reduce the threat to nearby members of the community. Safety depends upon the safety devices inherent in the design of the operation, the safe handling procedures used, the training of personnel, and the manner in which an accidental release is handled. REGULATED SUBSTANCES Emmber Foods Slaughter and Boning Plant is a cattle slaughtering facility. There is one regulated process at Emmber Foods, the use of anhydrous ammonia for refrigeration. There is a single anhydrous ammonia system at the facility with a total of approximately 18,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. RELEASE SCENARIOS Worst-Case Release Sce nario: Emmber Foods used the EPA's "Risk Management Program Guidance for Ammonia Refrigeration" to determine the worst-case release scenario. Failure of the largest vessel would release 1,095 pounds of ammonia per minute. Standard operating procedures limit the filling of this vessel to 90% of capacity. This vessel is located outside, therefore, no passive mitigation was considered for the worst-case release. From the EPA guidance document, it is assumed that the release will last for ten minutes and reach an endpoint of 200 ppm a distance of 1.2 miles. Alternative Release Scenario: Emmber Foods used the EPA's "Risk Management Program Guidance for Ammonia Refrigeration" to calculate an alternative release scenario. Emmber Foods chose the failure of a transfer hose as an alternative release scenario. Failure of a liquid ammonia transfer hose connected to a service valve with 1/4 inch pipe threads could release 189 pounds of ammonia per minute over a 10 minute period. The distanc e to the endpoint of 200 ppm is 0.1 mile. ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM The Emmber Foods facility complies with OSHA's Process Safety Management and EPA's Accidental Release Rule and all applicable State codes and regulations. Properly trained Emmber Foods' personnel conduct daily inspections and maintenance activities on the ammonia systems. Emmber Foods has ammonia detectors in place for early detection of a release or leak. FIVE-YEAR ACCIDENT HISTORY There have been no accidental releases of ammonia at the facility in the past five years. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN Emmber Foods implements an Emergency Action Plan in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.38. Employees receive training on an annual basis. The facility will notify the fire department in the event of an emergency. PLANNED CHANGES TO IMPROVE SAFETY Emmber Foods believes that safety improvement is an on-going process at the facility. Improvements to the program will be made as the opportunity arises. |