Belton/Ducworth (Saluda) - Executive Summary |
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The City of Belton is a small town in northwest South Carolina. We operate an aerated lagoon wastewater treatment in which we use chlorine to disinfect our effluent flow. We keep a total of 6 one ton cylinders on hand, for a total of 12,000 pounds. We have only been using these one ton cylinders for a short time as a result of a resent upgrade to our facility. We have started, in a large part due to the RMP, a comprehensive safety program. I the past safety was a part of or operation, but now it is taking a leading role in every task our employees undertake. The management of the City of Belton is committed to making all of its facilities the safest work environment possible for its employees. The Ducworth Wastewater Treatment Plant is located approximately one and a half miles east of Belton on SC 247. The treatment plant is an aerated lagoon which consist of the following: Influent screening and metering Aeration pond Polishing pond Disinfection process Effluent flow The Disinfection process consists of a chlorine contact basin and a disinfection building. The chlorine contact basin is a concrete structure in which chlorine is injected into the flow to disinfect it. The basin is constructed in a manner in which allows the chlorine to stay in contact with the flow for the longest time possible before it is removed. The disinfection building contains the one ton chlorine cylinders and the chlorinators and their controls. Our worst-case release scenario is based on a catastrophic failure due to corrosion, impact, or construction defects. The total amount of chlorine released was 2000 pounds at a rate of 200 pounds per minute over a ten-minute period. The distance to the end point is 3.0 miles from the release point. Our alternate chlorine release scenario is based on a failure of a one-inch schedule 80 pipe connected to two one ton cylinders. The total amount of chlorine released was 634 pounds at a rate of 23.4 pounds per minute over a 27.1-minute period. The distance to the end point is 0.85 miles downwind of the release point. Both the worst-case and the alternate chlorine release scenarios are very unlikely to occur due to the safety, maintenance and training procedures used by the city. The city employs all of the OSHA PSM rules and has recently increased the frequency of complete inspection of all equipment to daily. We have had no accidental releases of chlorine in the last five years. We have developed an extensive emergency response plan with the City of Belton Fire Department and the Anderson County LEPC. The Anderson County LEPC has moved to make our facility the training location for the entire county. A live drill in now in the planning stages which will involve facility employees, the Belton Fire Department, the Anderson County LEPC, the Anderson County Fire Department, the Anderson County HAZ-MAT Team, the Anderson County EMS, the Belton Police Department, the Anderson County Sheriffs Departm ent, South Carolina Department of Health and environmental control, and the South Carolina Highway Patrol. In the event of an accidental release the Belton Fire Department Chief will coordinate any public notifications, alerts, and evacuations he deems appropriate. We are in the process of changing our chlorine gas detection to a digital readout at a remote location. Many minor safety steps are being added or upgraded to improve the safety environment at our facility. |