Arkansas Aluminum Alloys, Inc. - Executive Summary |
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Executive Summary Arkansas Aluminum Alloys, Inc. is located in the industrial park east of Hot Springs, AR. The plant is situated on 28 acres approximately three hundred feet from highway 270 East of Hot Springs at 4400 Malvern Road. (501) 262-3420 (24 hour phone) Arkansas Aluminum Alloys, Inc. has been safely using chlorine in the process of alloying aluminum for twenty-three years at this location. Chlorine handling has always been a priority at the plant and the maintenance staff has incorporated many innovative safety features to the chlorine delivery system. Chlorine is delivered to the facility via rail transport in 90,000 pound containers. Each vessel is equipped with automatic shut off valves that are tested each time the rail car is placed in service. Each rail car is also equipped with a bladder or rubber liner to contain the chemical in the event of a rupture to the outer steel of the tank. This "secondary containment" system has an excellent safety record. The comp any connection is made to the rail car following strict connection procedures and the flow of the chlorine is through an additional shut off valve that can be activated manually at the rail car or remotely via an electrically operated shut off switch. The company also has training and procedures to manually "cap" the tank in the event of a valve failure. Company policy mandates that each time the chlorine system is connected or disconnected at any point of the delivery system the piping integrity is tested with a non-toxic gas (nitrogen) prior to being placed in service. The company maintains extensive chlorine handing training program as well as emergency response equipment to repair line, valve, connection, and gauge failures. An audit of the training, handling practices and response programs was conducted this year and several items were discovered to improve the safety program. All items relating to the chlorine system were revised and updated accordingly and the company is co ntinuing with improvements to the system as the enhancements become technically available. |