Sun World International Inc., - Executive Summary |
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Sun World International Inc., is a Agricultural Business with approximately 10,000 acres of local farm land. Sun World produces Nectarines, Peaches, Plums, Apricots, Melons, Peppers, and Tables grapes that are packed, stored under Anhydrous Ammonia refrigeration, then shipped to customers throughout the world. Sun World takes a Pro active approach to chemical safety and has implemented several safety programs to train its personnel. Upper management has approved the expenditures to create and maintain an Emergency Response Team of 20 people. Management has allocated the funds necessary to maintain all Emergency Response Equipment and to continue the training of its employees. The area of concern is our Storage rooms that are used to store our product prior to shipment. Sun Worlds cold storage facility uses 18,000 lbs of Anhydrous Ammonia to refigerate its storage rooms. The worst case Anhydrous Ammonia leak scenario would be the total loss of the ammonia receiver. The total quantit yof ammonia stored in the receiver at any one time is 9,000 lbs. However, engineering controls have been utilized to install a water deluge system over the receiver which will activate at anytime the pressure drops to below 70 lbs. During a catastrophic release it is estimated it would take approximately 2 minutes before the system would activate loosing approximately 1,800 lbs. As soon as the system activates it would eliminate the possibility of ammonia vapor leaving the site. Therefore, in the "Worst Case Scenario" a total loss of the 1,800 pounds would occur in a 10 minute period. The plant is located in a rural setting which the terrain is generally flat and unobstructed. The receiver is located in an enclosed space, in direct contact with the outside air. The assumptions made about the scenario is: Wind Speed, 3.4 miles/hour and Air Temperature at 77 degrees F. Under the above conditions the estimated distance to a "Toxic Endpoint" is 0.6 miles. The most likely "Alternative R elease Scenario" for the ammonia system would be a coil leak. The leak amount would equate to 9 lbs. of Anhydrous Ammonia. We have not had a reportable Anhydrous Ammonia leak in the past 5 years. We will continue to have hands on training with our Emergency Response Team, we will continue to work with local agencies, such as the Fire Department. We will continue to make changes to the facility as necessary to insure the safety of our employees and the general public. Emergency Response Team meets at a minimum on a quarterly basis, ideally on a monthly basis for continued training and hands on emergency drills. |