Fairhaven Water Pollution Control Facility - Executive Summary

| Accident History | Chemicals | Emergency Response | Registration | Source | Executive Summary |

Executive Summary 
 
 
   The Town of Fairhaven Water Pollution Control Facility works in conjunction with the Fairhaven Fire Department to assure all chemicals used at the facility are stored and handled in a safe manner.  The facility uses one ton cylinders of chlorine to disinfect wastewater.  The maximum amount of chlorine on site is three thousand eight hundred pounds.   Any chlorine leak in the building is detected by chloralerts, and an immediate alarm is sent to the Fire Department. 
 
   In addition to our partnership with the Fire Department, we also receive annual refresher training on the use and storage of chlorine from our supplier, Jones Chemical.  Each year an employee is sent to our facility to review the safe handling of chlorine.  We also have a service contract with Bailey-Fisher Porter for our chlorine delivery system.  Each year Bailey reviews the system with Town personnel.  This review includes tank switchover, chloralert detection systems, and proper use of the system a 
s a whole.   
 
   Our facility is a secondary wastewater treatment plant.  We receive an average of two and a half million gallons a day of raw wastewater from the towns of Fairhaven and Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.  We use conventional secondary treatment to remove organics and inorganics from the wastewater.  We dispose of our byproduct, biosolids, through liquid hauling to an outside facility.  As a final step in the treatment process, we add chlorine to the final effluent to eliminate fecal coliform.  Our average use of chlorine is fifty pounds per day.  We currently add chlorine during the months of April through October, as mandated by our National Pollutant Discharge Permit from the federal government.  We are currently looking into the use of an ultraviolet light system to replace the use of chlorine.  We hope to have that system in place within the next two years. 
 
   The worst case scenario presented in this report was calculated using the RMPcomp program and the EPA's RMP Guidanc 
e for WasteWater Treatment Plants.  We simulated a gas release of two thousand pounds.  The release rate of two hundred pounds per minute yields a distance to endpoint of 1.30 miles.  This would affect a resident population of approximately 500 people. There is an elementary school, a shopping center, office buildings, and a recreational bicycle path within this area. 
 
   The alternative scenario was also constructed using the above mentioned tools.  This scenario involves a one square inch puncture of a tank, during delivery, with a resulting liquid release.  The calculated values yield a distance to endpoint of 0.80 miles, and would affect a resident population of approximately 200 people.  This scenario would impact the same structures and recreational areas mentioned above.  We selected this scenario because it seemed the most likely to occur at our facility. 
 
   We believe that the safety practices of the staff at the facility would mitigate the above mentioned scenarios.  We have chl 
oralert systems in the building, which are tested weekly.  These systems send an audible alarm, go directly to the Fire Department, and call plant personnel on an autodialer during unmanned hours.  Plant and Fire Department personnel immediately respond to all alarms.  We have the proper equipment to handle problems with the system.  In addition the Fire Department has access to regional resources should the problem be beyond our scope.  The Fire Department has prepared an emergency response program under which we would assist them.  We receive joint training on the proper use of chlorine, and mitigation of problems.   
    
   All chlorine equipment and tanks are inspected on a daily basis.  In addition our system supplier, Bailey Fisher-Porter, does a monthly check of the system.  We are in the process of obtaining an empty one ton cylinder from Jones chemical upon which plant and Fire personnel would practice tank repair.  Plant personnel have also attended seminars conducted by the Massa 
chusetts Department of Protection regarding hazardous chemicals and confined space.  Safety is considered first when dealing with chlorine at all times.   
 
   We have not had an accident at the facility in the past ten years.  We hope to continue to enhance our training programs.  All personnel are aware of the hazards involved and have been trained to respect chlorine.  We yield to the Fire Department in any emergency situation, but assist as needed, in accordance with their plan.
Click to return to beginning