Perdue Farms Incorporated - Executive Summary |
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Executive Summary - Robersonville, North Carolina Description of the Facility and the Regulated Substance: Perdue Farms Incorporated, founded in 1920, is the largest poultry producer in the Northeast and the third largest in the United States. Headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland, the family owned, privately held company has operations in 14 states. Twenty processing facilities produce about 50 million pounds of poultry products each week. Perdue Farms also has grain storage and merchandising operations and is ranked among the top 20 largest U. S. grain companies. Perdue also manufactures edible oils, specialty feeds, livestock feed ingredients and premium pet food ingredients. The Perdue Farms Robersonville Processing Plant Facility P-12637 is a poultry processing plant located at 800 West Green Street in Robersonville, North Carolina. Perdue Farms began operations at the facility March 7, 1983. The property is surrounded by farm land and a residential areas that includes a public school. Anhydrous ammonia (R-717), used as the refrigerant for the cooling system, is the only regulated substance covered by CFR Part 68 at Perdue's Robersonville facility. The total quantity of ammonia used is approximately 14,000 pounds, distributed throughout various systems components (compressor, pressure vessels, condensers, etc.) at the main processing facility. The majority of the refrigeration components are located in the mechanical room, with the exception of the condensers, which are located on the roof; piping located throughout the facility; ice makers located in the ice room; and the evaporators, which are located thoughout the coolers. Accidental release prevention and emergency response policies: As a concerned member of the communities in which Perdue facilities are located, the company takes its role as a responsible corporate citizen very seriously. All Perdue facilities are operated to protect employees, contractors and the public fro m injury and illness, and to minimize environmental impact. a company-wide safety and wellness program stresses safe working conditions and safe practices. Perdue's policy is to inspect, maintain and operate equipment and facilities to prevent accidents, including release of hazardous materials; and to train employees in prevention, as well as to prepare them to respond rapidly and effectively should an accident occur. Perdue has developed and implemented Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) and Process Safety Management (PSM) plans at each operations facility as part of an overall chemical management program. the program involves a wide-range of senior management personnel, including the Director of Environmental Services and the Director of Safety and Security. Additionally, Perdue conducts regular safety meetings and provides a wide variety of environmental, health and safety training to its staff. General Accidental Release Prevention Program: The Perdue Farm s Robersonville facility maintains a Process Safety Management (PSM) of Highly Hazardous Chemicals plan prepared in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regulation 29 CFR 1910.119. Perdue Farms also utilizes a preventative maintenance program for its system operating parameters and monitoring system four times per shift with all observations logged on a checklist. Worst-Case Release Scenario: The worst-case release scenario submitted for Program 3 toxic substances as a class involves a catastrophic release from ammonia refrigeration. The scenario involves the release of 13,847 pounds of ammonia in a gaseous form over 10 minutes. At Class F atmospheric stability and 1.5 m/s wind speed, the maximum distance of 1.42 miles is obtained corresponding to a toxic endpoint of 0.14 mg/L. Alternative Release Scenarios: Four alternative release scenarios have been considered: 1. Release from the Main Processing Plant relief valve in the ammonia refrig eration process. The scenario involves the release of 150 pounds of ammonia in a gaseous form over 15 minutes. Under neutral weather conditions, the maximum distance to the toxic endpoint of 0.14 mg/L of ammonia is .06 miles. 2. Release from the Main Processing plant 70-ton ice maker in the ammonia refrigeration process. the scenario involves the release of 1,200 pounds of ammonia in a gaseous form over 20 minutes. Under neutral weather conditions, the maximum distance to the toxic endpoint of 0.14 mg/L of ammonia is .19 miles. 3. Release from the Main Processing Plant cooler line in the ammonia refrigeration process. The scenario involves the release of 105 pounds of ammonia in a gaseous form over 15 minutes. Under neutral weather conditions, the maximum distance to the toxic endpoint if 0.14 mg/L of ammonia is 0.03 miles. 4. Release from the Main Processing Plant Main liquid line in the ammonia refrigeration process. the scenario involves the release of 8,000 pounds o f ammonia in a gaseous form over 10 minutes. Under neutral weather conditions, the maximum distance to the toxic endpoint of 0.14 mg/L if ammonia is 0.43 miles. Five -Year Accident History: There have been no accidents involving ammonia at this facility nor off-site that have resulted in death(s), injuries, property damage, evacuations, environmental damage of sheltering-in-place. Emergency Response Program: Perdue Farms has implemented a comprehensive Emergency Response Plan in accordance with the OSHA PSM regulations. the facility has a trained emergency response team that will respond in the event of a hazardous material release, fire or other emergency situation. The written Emergency Response Plan contains specific information regarding Emergency Response organization and procedures, as well as incident notification, mitigation, and incident preparedness. In addition, Perdue Farms training program includes annual refreshers. Also, the plant conducts a mock evacuation two times per year with at least on drill coordinated with local emergency responders (Robersonville / Williamston Fire and Regional Response Team). Risk Communication Plan: As part of its Risk Management Program, Perdue Farms has developed a RMP Communications Plan. The goal of this plan are (1) to educate the public on the potential risk of regulated substances used by Perdue; (2) to respond to any concerns that RMP disclosures may cause with honest, fact-based communications; and (3) to be fully prepared to effectively respond to any accidental chemical release scenario. Proactive materials about the disclosure information, how the company is prepared to deal with a accident, how the community should respond to an accident, and a process for announcing that an accident has occurred (to be used as needed) are being prepared. In addition, training and information materials for Perdue managers and employees, community officials, civic groups, the media, environmental groups, emerg ency response personnel and the public in general will be available. Planned Changes to Improve Safety: Perdue Farms is in the process on installing an ammonia gas detection system in order to minimize the exposure of facility personnel in the event of a release. This detection system will monitor ammonia levels in all ammonia equipment rooms as well as monitor all ammonia relief manifolds. In the event the ammonia level at the sensor location reaches a preset PPM level, a warning buzzer and light will be activated on the supervisory panel in the refrigeration shop. This alarm will in turn, activate exhaust fans, turn off blowers and air intakes in various areas depending on the situation. In addition, as part of Perdue's continual improvement philosophy, all Perdue facilities continue to identify and update system components and techniques to ensure safety. |