FARMERS CO-OP SHIPPING ASS'N - Executive Summary |
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The Farmers Co-op Shipping Assn of Barnes Kansas is dedicated to the prevention of all accidents including an accidental release of anhydrous ammonia. We have demonstrated our commitment to safety and the safe handling of anhydrous by our excellent safety record and the training we have done both internally and externally. The primary activity we are involved in with anhydrous ammonia is the recieving from truck, storage, and transfer of anhydrous ammonia into nurse trailers for our farmer owners. This activity is heavly regulated by OSHA, EPA, DOT and the Kansas Department of Agricuture. Our storage plant holds 184,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in our 3 storage tanks. The largest tank is an 18,000 gallon storage tank that hold 79,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia has limited by design standards. The worst-case release scenario would be the release of the total contents of a storage tank released as a gas in 10 minutes. The distance to the endpoint (point of dispersion to 200 ppm) i s 1.89 miles. The alternative release scenario based on the five-year accident history is a release from a break in the transfer hose. The distance to the endpoint in this case (point of dispersion to 200 ppm) is .83 miles. Our firm has an emergency response plan and over the years we have shared this plan with our local emergency personnel. We also are inspected on an annual basis by the Kansas Department of Agriculture (who follows the ANSI K-61 standards) and have participated in the Kansas RIght-to-Know program in which we report quanities of hazardous materials to the State of Kansas. The facility has implemented all of the standards the industry, goverment and insurance advisors have required and requested. There have been no accidntal releases of anhydrous ammonia in the past five years that has caused any deaths, injuries, or significant property damage at the facility; nor to our knowledge, have resulted in offsite deaths, injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place, prop erty damage or environmental damage. Our staff understands the importance of safety not only for themselves but also the safety of the community and the environment. Our jobs require us to respect our community because our owners and customers are our community. |