Russellville Water Treatment Plant - Executive Summary |
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The General Manager enforces safety as a condition of employment at City Corporation. Training, maintenance, and written policy have proven to be an effective prevention program. The chlorination process is checked no less than six times a day and documented in log book. Employees are consciencous and care about the safety of fellow employees and local residents. The City Corporation Water Treatment Plant provides an average of six millions gallons of treated drinking water to the city of Russellville and surrounding communities every day. The regulated chemical, liquid chlorine, is used as an oxydizer to destroy contaminants and pathogens in finished drinking water. A dual one ton cylinder feed system and two spare one ton tanks of liquid chlorine mean there may be as much as four tons on hand at the water plant at any given time. The EPA RMP*Comp model shows that if a one ton liquid chlorine cylinder ruptured and all the liquid was released into the atmosphere as a gas, the worst-c ase estimated distance to the toxic endpoint would be 0.9 miles from the plant. An alternate release scenario, such as a ruptured disk or pipe leak, predicts the distance to the toxic endpoint to be 0.2 miles. Both scenarios would possibly affect many residences in close proximity to the plant, but such catostrophic failures of equipment, particularly when well managed and maintained, is a rarity. City Corporation believes that a strong prevention program and a rehearsed emergency response will provide adequate protection to employees and residents from and accidental release. The Water Treatment Plant has not experienced an accidental release of liquid chlorine in the last five years. The emergency response program is a written guide of step-by-step instructions in the event of an accidental release. Immediate notification of the Russellville Fire Department, LEPC, local residents, and the emergency response team occurs. The team is a group of experienced, trained operators who kno w how to utilize available SCBA's, Level A chemical protection suits, and chlorine "B" kits (one ton cylinder repair kits), to minimize the threat of an accidental release. A process area detection alarm will give an early warning to a leak, and the wind sock mounted on the storage silo will immediately show wind direction. City Corporation will review and update this plan, as needed, and investigate possible mitigation device installation for the future to provide additional accidental release protection. |