G.S. Robins and Company (04 Quincy) - Executive Summary |
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G.S. ROBINS AND COMPANY G.S. Robins and Company is a St. Louis-based chemical distribution company with branch locations throughout the Midwest. The branch located in Quincy is one of the outlying branches. G.S. Robins has specialized in serving the unique chemical needs of the Midwest. The Quincy branch is involved with chemical storage and transportation. Employees at the branch location work with the chemical containers, but do not open any of the containers. G.S. Robins and Company is a long time member of the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD). Through the NACD G.S. Robins has committed and pledged to constantly improve the management and handling of chemicals by following the "Responsible Distribution Process(RDP)". RDP is a system that promotes continuous improvement in the health, safety, and environmental performance of all member companies. G.S. Robin's implementation of the RDP includes a commitment to comply with relevant environmental health and safety regulations. The senior management at G.S. Robins has formally accepted these guiding principles. RDP includes guiding principles for all aspects of environmental health and safety. These include: communication with emergency response officials, operating our facilities in a safe manner, respond to community concerns about chemicals, and to make health, safety and the environment a priority. In order to verify that G.S. Robins has complied with the guidling principles of RDP, the NACD conducts a third party verification. The on-site verification is conducted by a third party. The third party audits G.S. Robins every three years. The primary activities at the Quincy branch consist of the following: drum and tote storage, material loading and unloading, and transporation. The Quincy facility of G.S. Robins has four of the 140 chemicals identified by the EPA above the threshold quantity. These chemicals are: anhydrous ammonia, peracetic acid, epichlorohydrin, and chlori ne. WORST-CASE SCENARIO The worst-case scenario for G.S. Robins - Quincy involves chlorine. Chlorine is stored on-site in three different types of containers. These containers are: 2,000 lb. cylinder, 1490 lb. cylinder, and 150 lb. cylinder. The worst-case scenario demonstrates all of the chlorine on-site being released at one time. The maximum amount on-site is 51,270 pounds. The scenario would be either a fire or explosion causing all of the cylinders to release at one time. The scenario has an offsite impact radius of 14 miles (Toxic Endpoint). The modeling was done using the EPA COMP program. The liklihood of this scenario taking place is remote. ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS The alternative scenarios at G.S. Robins-Quincy consists of problems that are more likely to happen. As a chemical distributor, G.S. Robins moves a large quantity of chemicals. During the moving or storage of a chemical there is always the chance that a container could begin leaking. The leaking could be caused by several factors. These factors include: overfilling, jostling during transportation or just a leak. The following are the alternative scenarios at G.S. Robins-Quincy. These alternative scenarios were completed on the EPA COMP modeling program. ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS FOR OUTDOOR CHEMICAL STORAGE The outdoor chemical storage consists of cylinders stored on the outside of the warehouse buildings. The cylinders are stored on site to ship/deliver to customers. The Alternative Scenarios represent incidents that are more likely to occur than the worst-case scenario. G.S. Robins and Company moves a large amount of material though the facility each year. The types of incidents that are likely to occur are: drum leaks, tote leaks, and leaks in a cylinder. Release of chlorine from a 2,000 lb. cylinder / Leak in the cylinder / Toxic Endpoint = 0.6 miles Release of chlorine from a 150 lb. cylinder / Leak in the cylinder / Toxic Endpoint = 0.2 miles Release of chlorine from a 1,4 90 lb. cylinder / Leak in the cylinder / Toxic Endpoint = 0.6 miles Release of anhydrous ammonia from a 150 lb. cylinder / Leak in the cylinder / Toxic Endpoint = 0.1 miles Release of anhydrous ammonia from a 100 lb. cylinder / Leak in the cylinder / Toxic Endpoint = 0.1 miles ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS FOR INDOOR CHEMICAL STORAGE The indoor chemical storage consists of a regular warehouse configuration. Many different types of chemicals are stored in the warehouse areas. Each warehouse is enclosed with direct contact to the outside air. The Peracetic acid is stored in a warehouse built to contain the product. The warehouse floor slopes to the middle preventing any of the acid from leaving the building. Release of peracetic acid from a 250 lb. drum / Leak in the drum / Toxic Endpoint = 0.1 miles Release of peracetic acid from a 3,000 lb. tote / Leak in the tote / Toxic Endpoint = 0.1 miles Release of epichlorohydrin from a 530 lb. drum / Leak in the drum / Toxic Endpoint = <0.1 miles FIVE YEAR ACCIDENT HISTORY G.S. Robins and Company - Decatur has had no reportable accidental releases in the past five years. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM The G.S. Robins and Company Emergency Action Plan consists of guidance for evacuation, fires, spills, tornadoes and bombthreats. In addition, the plan contains information on emergency contacts, plant layouts, and emergency reporting requirements. CHANGES TO IMPROVE SAFETY G.S. Robins and Company has learned important information about safety and the environment. This information has come from participation in the RDP program and completing the RMP requirements. Improvements are an on-going process. The completion of the RMP program has lead to several processes that are being evaluated. Process hazard analysis are being reviewed and updated. Our emergency action plan is being reviewed and updated for all facilities. And G.S. Robins is evaluating the inventories of chemicals stored and alternatives. |