DeBruce Ag Service, Inc. - Executive Summary |
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DeBruce Ag Service, inc. in Nebraska City, Nebraska is an agricultural retailer of fertilizers and crop protection products to farmers in approximately a 15 mile radius. We have one anhydrous ammonia plant located at Percival, Iowa. The tank has a total capacity of 12,500 galons, or effective capacity filled to 85% of 24.8 tons. The storage tank contains internal excess flow valves that provide positive shut-off of product flow in the event of a hose or pipe failure. The worst case senario we have used is for the entire storage tank to empty from some unknown failure in 10 minutes. This is an extremely unlikely occurence with all the excess flow valves that are in place and working on the tank. Anhydrous Ammonia is a gas stored under pressure as a liquid, and releases to the atmospher as a gas, unless injected into the ground by specialized application tools. With the normal prevailing winds from the southwest, and accidential release would likely bypass the main portion of the city of Percival. In the event of a release under these conditions the local LEPC and our business would need to take steps to notify the affected area for evacuation. The most likely accidential release is the failure of either pipeing or transfer hose used to move product from the storage unit to nurse tanks (Portable 1,000 gallon units). A failure of this type would result in a small release of product (200# or less) prior to the excess flow valves detecting a large flow and snapping shut. We take active steps to avoid over pressurizing or overfilling storage vessels by maintaining a policy of never filling storage or transfer units beyond 85% of full capacity. The tanks are mointered during extremely high temperatures, and the tank volume is reduced if necessary. We inspect, maintain and replace the relief valves of both storage and nurse units at prescribed intervals. DeBruce Ag Service works in cooperation with the local LEPC to respond to any accidental releases of pr oduct from our storage velless. Internally, DeBruce Ag Service, Inc. believes that all levels of employees are responsible for the health and safety of those employed by DeBruce Ag, as well as the community in which it operates. |