R.C. Willson Water Treatment Plant - Executive Summary |
|
The R.C. Willson Water Treatment Plant, located in Washington County, Maryland is owned and operated by the City of Hagerstown, Md. The plant produces an average of 10 million gallons of potable water per day and uses, as a disinfecting agent, liquid chlorine. The facility stores approximately 13 (at a maximum) 2000 pound cylinders of chlorine and uses one 2,000 pound cylinder at a time to feed between 100 and 400 pounds of gaseous chlorine per day into a carrier water that feeds into a large holding area (clear well) for microbial disinfection. Extensive standard operating procedures are associated with the safe handling of the chlorine cylinders. Management and operators receive ongoing training in the safe handling of chlorine and they are dedicated to maintaining zero discharges into the atmosphere. This last statement is exhibited by the fact that no releases to the atmosphere have impacted the surrounding population or the environment in the 70 years of the plant's existance . Recent changes in processing equipment, changing the process from a pressurized feed to a vacuum controlled feed, have greatly reduced the possibility of chlorine release during use even further. The procedure most prone to accidental release is the changing from an empty cylinder to a full cylinder. The procedures used to perform this operation involve three highly trained operators, two operators handling the cylinders and one stand-by operator wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus. The operators are ready to close valves at the sign of a leak. Other safety considerations range from periodic inspection of the lift used to move cylinders to frequent (every two hours) visual inspection of all the equipment involved in the process. R.C. Willson plant operators follow guidlines mandated by OSHA and a Process Safety Management Program has been established to prevent accidental exposure to the chlorine gas. In compliance with the RMP, a worst-case release scenario and an alternative scenario were prepared using the OCA Guidance Reference Tables. Using these tables it was calculated that under the given conditions of the Guidance Reference there is a potential of a radius of 5.4 miles around the plant that could be affected if a catostrophic event occured causing the release of the entire contents of a 2000 pound cylinder of chlorine. Within that radius resides a population of approximately 19,298 people along with a section of the C & O Canal, a National Park. An Alternative (more likely) senario would involve a partial dischare of the gaseous state of the chlorine that would effect a radius of only 0.48 miles incompassing a population of 210 people. Accidental releases in the last five years, as required to be reported in the RMP, were zero (0). If a release does occur that has the potential of effecting plant personnel, procedures dictate that the local HAZMAT Response Team be notified. At that point all Local Emergency Personnel will be notifi ed to make a determination as to whether the public and other concerned entities should be notified with appropriate notices for their safety. A copy of this RMP has been given to the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). The City of Hagerstown Management Staff and the Employees at the R.C. Willson Water Treatment Plant are deticated to the safe handling of Chlorine. Safety procedures are continuously being reviewed in an effort to completely eliminate the accidental release of chlorine gas. |