Nalco Chemical Company -- Plant 1 - Executive Summary |
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Executive Summary 1. Accidental Release Prevention and Emergency Response Policies At Nalco Chemical Company, we are committed to operating and maintaining all of our processes in a safe and responsible manner. We use a combination of accidental release prevention and emergency response planning to help ensure the protection of the environment, the safety of our employees, and the safety of the general public. As founding members of the local Community Advisory Group, we firmly believe in that we must consider community concerns when conducting our business. This document provides a brief overview of the comprehensive risk management activities that we have designed and implemented to protect the public, including: + A description of our facility and use of substances regulated by EPA's RMP regulation + A summary of results from our assessment of the potential offsite consequences from accidental chemical releases + An overview of our accidental release prevention programs + A five-year accident history for accidental releases of chemicals regulated by EPA's RMP rule + An overview of our emergency response program + An overview of planned improvements at the facility to help prevent accidental chemical releases from occurring and adversely affecting our employees, the public, and the environment 2. Stationary Source and Regulated Substances Nalco Chemical Company is the largest provider of water treatment and process chemicals, services and systems in the world. Our facility produces these chemicals using a variety of raw materials and process operations. We use the following chemicals that EPA has identified as having the potential to cause significant offsite consequences in the event of a substantial accidental release: Toxic Chemicals + Cyclohexylamine is blended with other chemicals to make corrosion inhibitors. + Epichlorohy drin is reacted with dimethylamine to make polymers used in the paper industry. Flammable Chemicals + An aqueous solution of 60% dimethylamine is reacted with epichlorohydrin to make polymers used in the paper industry. Our accidental release prevention programs and our contingency planning efforts help us effectively manage the hazards that are posed to our employees, the public, and the environment by our use of these chemicals. 3. Key Offsite Consequence Analysis Scenarios The following are brief summaries of the key offsite consequence analysis scenarios, including information about the key administrative controls and minimization measures to limit the endpoint distances for each scenario: Worst-case Release Scenario: Regulated Toxic Chemicals Our worst-case release scenario involves the rupture of a full, 10,000 gallon rail car of epichlorohydrin and the failure of all active minimization systems. The spilled material forms a pool in the natural depression near the tracks, and on a warm 970F day, the pool evaporates. The wind is assumed to be moving slowly through the area at 3.4 mph, which keeps the vapors from rapidly dispersing. The vapors will affect nearby industrial, commercial, and residential areas, if it is not cleaned up. However, the area is equipped with two automatic, active minimization systems. The first system is a remote camera that will alert operators in the control room to a spill or other malfunction in the area. Switches in the control room can shut down equipment to mitigate releases. The second system is an area air-monitoring network of sensors that will directly alert the onsite emergency response team in the event of a release. Immediate action by plant personnel will minimize the impact on the environment and community. The onsite emergency response team will notify local business es, schools, and outside emergency services to alert the general population to take the proper precautions, if the release will affect offsite areas. Alternate Release Scenarios: Regulated Toxic Chemicals A more realistic release scenario involves a leak during the transfer of chemicals delivered by truck or railcar, because temporary hose connections must be made each time. The transfer pump is pooling 50 gallons of chemical per minute until plant personnel can don the proper protective equipment and manually shut off the pump. Meteorological conditions more typical of the Chicago area are fanning the chemical vapors through the area. These more realistic conditions reduce the affected area from a release of either epichlorohydrin or cyclohexylamine and only affects neighboring industrial businesses, not residential or commercial areas. Worst-case Release Scenario: Regulated Flammable Chemicals Our wo rst-case release scenario involving a flammable substance is the rupture of a reactor containing 60% dimethylamine. The entire contents of the tank are assumed to spill on the building floor, vaporize then explode. The force from the blast will assert an extra pressure of 1 psi affecting nearby industrial, commercial, and residential areas. Alternate Release Scenario: Regulated Flammable Chemicals A more realistic release scenario involves a leak during the transfer of chemicals delivered by truck or railcar, when temporary hose connections, which must be made each time, have failed. The transfer pump is pooling 50 gallons per minute of the dimethylamine solution until plant personnel can don the proper protective equipment and manually shut off the pump. Despite these minimization efforts, the evaporated vapors explode. The force from the blast will affect nearby industrial and residential areas. We are using this i nformation to help us ensure that our emergency response plan and the community emergency response plan address all reasonable contingency cases. 4. General Accidental Release Prevention Program and Chemical Specific Prevention Steps We maintain a number of programs to help prevent accidental releases and ensure safe operation. The accident prevention programs in place include: + Standard procedures for process operations and maintenance activities. + A review process for every change to ensure safe operation. + Scheduled maintenance, inspections, and audits to prevent releases from malfunctioning equipment. + Investigations of releases, accidents, and near misses to prevent reoccurring incidents. + Communication of the specific hazards of the chemicals to employees. + Proper training for all personnel working directly with hazardous wastes. + Design of buildings to minimize the impact of an explosion. + Barriers around tanks and other equipment to contain catastrophic releases + Periodic testing of the atmospheric levels of chemicals in the plant. + An air monitoring system to alert plant personnel of hazardous chemical releases. + A thorough safety review of an area before welding or other "hot" activities may occur. The elements of our prevention program work together to prevent accidental chemical releases. Our company and our employees are committed to the standard that these management systems set for the way we do business, and we have specific accountabilities and controls to ensure that we are meeting our own high standards for accident prevention. 5. Five Year Accident History We keep records of accidental chemical releases that occur at our facility. In the past five years, we have not had any accidents involving an RMP covered process that resulted in death, injury, evacuation, sheltering in place, significant property damage, or enviro nmental damage. For any accident of this nature, we will conduct a formal incident investigation to identify and correct the root causes of the event. 6. Emergency Response Program We maintain an integrated contingency plan, which consolidates various federal, state, and local regulatory requirements for emergency response planning. Our program provides the essential planning and training for effectively protecting workers, the public, and the environment during emergency situations. We ensure our plant is prepared to respond to emergencies through several means: + Maintaining an on site Emergency Response Team trained to respond to fires and chemical releases. + Conducting an annual, comprehensive, emergency simulation that calls upon plant and community emergency response groups to work together during a planned, large-scale disaster scenario to evaluate capability. 7. Planned Changes to Improve Safety Th e following is a list of improvements that we are planning to implement at the facility to help prevent and/or better respond to accidental chemical releases: + Improved Emergency Response Team Training and Emergency Coordinator Training + Upgrade the foam distribution system in the flammable storage area with filters to improve reliability. + Upgrade the computers for the area air monitoring system. + Upgrade the computers for the central fire alarm system. + Introduce new fire extinguishers specifically designed to fight flammable liquid fires. |