Blackstone Water Pollution Control Facilities - Executive Summary |
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The Town of Blackstone Water Pollution Control Facility is located within the boundaries of Fort Pickett, which is a Virginia National Guard facility. This facility is owned and operated by the Town of Blackstone, Virginia. The facility treats wastewater from Blackstone and Fort Pickett. Domestic, industrial, and commercial wastewater flows to the facility where it is treated through several processes before it is discharged to a local creek. The wastewater treatment facility contains many chemicals used in the laboratory and in the treatment of the wastewater. Chlorine gas and Sulfur Dioxide gas are the only chemicals in large quantity that could be a danger to the surrounding community. Both gasses are stored in "ton" cylinders, and at any one time, the facility may have up to 12,000 pounds of chlorine and 12,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide. Chlorine, sulfur dioxide, and also all small quantity chemicals at the facility are handled in a very safe manner in order to prevent any acc idental releases. To maximize employee and public safety, the Town of Blackstone is committed to very high standards of safety at the facility. The safety protocols are implemented at the facility through Town's chain-of-command (Town Manager-Superintendent of Water/Waste Utilities-Facility employees). These safety measures include daily inspections, employee training, monitoring devices, design features, etc. The Town, in accordance to the RMP requirements, has run a computer model (RMP*Comp) to determine worst case and alternative case releases of chlorine and sulfur dioxide. The computer model has indicated that the endpoint of a gas release is 0.9 miles (worst case) and 0.1 miles (alternative case). Both cases would involve the release of chlorine from the facility and the likely pathway of the gas. Since chlorine is heavier than air, the likely pathway for chlorine would be towards Hurricane Branch which has no human receptors within the 0.9 mile radius. Sulfur dioxide wou ld escape and be mixed with the ambient air in the area. Several Fort Pickett buildings and training areas could be within the release endpoint. The wastewater treatment facility is complying with the EPA RPM requirements and the OSHA PSM requirements. The Town of Blackstone believes it is very important to use both technological and procedural/manerial procedures in the safety protocol. The wastewater facility has had no reportable accidental releases at the facility within the past five years. In case of a future release, the employees at the facility are trained to indentify the release, report the release, and take all necessary steps in protecting the public safety. The local Fire Departments and Emergency Response Teams will be contacted immediately upon a release. The Town of Blackstone will continually review and revise (as needed) the safety protocols at the facility in order to provide the best service to the community in a safe and efficient manner. |