SPS Technologies - Aerospace Products Division - Executive Summary |
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SPS Technologies Aerospace Products Division (SPS Technologies) maintains an active Management Safety Committee and a Shop Safety Committee which have been responsible for the oversight of the safety activities at the Jenkintown, PA facility prior to the requirements of the Risk Management Program Rule (40 CFR 68). The management of the Risk Management Plan (RMP) will be continued by these committees. The worst-case release scenario was based on the release of 100,000 pounds of liquid propane (LP) from the largest single vessel in the system (one of two 30,000 gallon LP tanks on the site). The vessels are typically maintained at approximately 85% capacity therefore 100,000 pounds of LP was used for the worst-case release scenario. There has never been a release of any kind since the tanks were installed at the facility in July 1977. However, to comply with the requirements of the Risk Management Program Rule, SPS Technologies determined through the use of the EPA provided "look-up " tables that the impact area would be 0.38 miles if the total quantity was released during a catastrophic event (i.e., an airplane crashing into the tank). The alternative release scenario was based on the facility's best estimate of what type of release actually could occur. Since there were no releases of LP at the facility since 7/77, it was decided that a leak in a 2" line coming from the LP tanks to the vaporizer due to failure of a valve would be the most likely scenario to occur. The quantity of LP released under this scenario is based on the fact that the leak would occur on the weekend or third shift and go undetected for three hours (the time a security guard would be making rounds and would detect the leak). During this period approximately 38,000 pounds of LP would be lost from the tank. The impact area would be 0.27 miles. The LP tanks are equipped with check valves which would normally stop the flow of LP when the velocity in the lines exceeded design values. The alternative release, therefore, was based on a leak that would not initiate the check valve because the flow would be less than the level needed to initiate the check valve. SPS Technologies has this active mitigating system in place to prevent the loss of any significant amount of LP from either of the storage tanks. |