Hintzsche Fertilizer Inc. - Executive Summary

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1. The Facility Policy:  The owners, management, and employees of Hintzsche Fertilizer Inc. are committed to the prevention of any accidental releases of anhydrous ammonia by utilization of proper equipment, regular inspections and maintenance, and training of all persons that work with the material.  Should an accidental release occur, the facility has orientated the local fire department and the local emergency planning committee so they can plan for response to any release and minimize the impact of the release to people and the environment. 
 
2. Facility Information:  The primary activity at the facility is the storage and blending for sale to farmers.  Anhydrous ammonia is recieved, stored, and distributed for direct application as a crop nutrient and also used for blending in a mixing operation to make mixed-grade fertilizers for application.  The maximum quantity stored would be 51,405 pounds in the facility's one tank.  The capacity of the tank is 11,000 gal. 
 
3.  The worst-case 
release scenario would be the release of the total contents of the storage tank released as a gas over 10 minutes.  The maximum quantity released would be 51,405 pounds, which represents the volume of the storage tank at 85 percent capacity as limited by the design standards and company procedures.  The distance to the endpoint of dispersion based on the model used is 1.75 miles. 
 
The alternative-case release scenario is assumed to be a release from  the rupture of a 1 inch transfer hose, with 2,901 pounds released over 2 minutes.  The distance to the endpoint of the dipersion is .64 miles.  
 
4. The accidental release program: The facility complies with the Rules and Regulations relating  to The Handling of Anhydrous Ammonia and low pressure Nitrogen Solutions, Equipment, Containers and Storage Facilities.  These regulations administered by the Illinois Department of Agriculture are consistent with ANSI K61.1 and OSHA 29 CFR 1910.111 regarding storage and handling of anhydrous ammonia 

 
5. The Five-year Accident History:  There has been no accidental releases of anhydrous ammonia for the covered process in the past five years that have caused any deaths, injuries, or significant property damage on site; nor to our knowledge, have any accidental releases resulted in offsite deaths, injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place, property damage of environmental damage. 
 
6. The Emergency Response Program:  The facility has a written emergency action plan in accordance with OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.38 and provide state and local authorities the emergency planning and community right-to-know information as required under SARA Title III of EPCRA.  Our emergency response action plan has been reviewed with the local fire department and provided to the local emergency planning committee for coordination in the community response planning. 
 
7. Planned changes to improve safety:  Safety improvements is an on-going process at the facility.  Periodic evaluations are performed to  
assess the maintenance of safe practices and operations.  There are no additional specific anhydrous ammonia safety recommendations for implementation at this time.
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