Continental Nitrogen & Resources Corporation - Executive Summary |
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Continental Nitrogen and Resources Corporation (CNR) is a chemical storage and transfer facility located on 103 acres on the eastern outskirts of Rosemount, Minnesota, which is a suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul. The site is bordered by State Highways 55 and 52, and agricultural land. Neighbors to CNR include a petroleum refinery, various industrial chemical facilities, and a farmstead. The CNR facility is comprised of several above ground storage tanks and several maintenance, administrative, and process builgings. CNR's primary area of business is wholesale distribution of agricultural fertilizers. We also blend and bag commericial fertilizers, and distribute some industrial chemicals. Among the agricultural chemicals stored on site, anhydrous ammonia and ammonium hydroxide are covered by the Risk Managemnet Plan regulation. The facility has capacity for approximately 24,000 tons of anhydrous ammonia and 100 tons of ammonium hydroxide. The core of CNR's facility operation is th e distribution of chemicals. Therefore CNR's business success depends upon the proper handling and storage of those chemicals, and proper handling means safe handling. Written standard operating procedures (SOP's), employee training, and process safety equipment all contribute to the safe operation of CNR's facility. Employees receive initial training, and then refresher training annually to ensure they comprehend the SOP's. Training methods include classroom exercises and on the job training. In addition to the training, safety meetings are conducted throughout the course of the year to reinforce safe handling of chemicals. Process safety equipment consists of excess flow valves, automatic shut-offs, and emergency shut offs. CNR is subject to OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) rule. By following PSM CNR ensures that the anhydrous ammonia and ammonium hydroxide storage and handling processes are operated and maintained in the safest possible manner. CNR also has a crew of six employees who have been trained in accordance with 1910.120(q) as first responders to an ammonia release incident. CNR's Emergency Response plan details plant evacuation procedures, medical response procedures, and communication procedures to notify facility neighbors and local emergency responders. There are two chemicals for which CNR developed release scenarios, anhydrous ammonia and ammonium hydroxide. Anhydrous ammonia is a gas that is refrigerated and stored in a liquid state. The worst-case release scenario for anhydrous ammonia is the release of the entire contents of a 3,000,000 gallon above ground storage tank. The release could potentially have an impact up to 25 miles from the CNR site. An alternate release scenario for anhydrous ammonia would be the release of the entire contents of a 27,800 gallon rail car. This type of release could have an impact up to 0.5 miles from the CNR site. The worst- case release scenario for ammonium hydroxide would be the rel ease of the entire contents of a 27,000 gallon above ground storage tank. This release could have an impact up to 0.5 miles from the CNR site. The alternate release scenario for ammonium hydroxide would be the release of the entrie contents of a 6500 gallon tanker truck. This release could have an impact up to 0.3 miles from the CNR site. The reference tables from the Waste Water Treatment Plant Offsite Consequence Analysis Guidance were used to determine these values. CNR has had five accidental releases of ammonia in the past five years, and one accidental release of ammonium hydroxide. The largest release was 3,000 pounds of ammonia. The proper local authorities were notified. There were no offsite impacts as a result of the release. None of the other releases resulted in any offsite impacts either. |