Ladish Co Inc - Executive Summary |
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The Ladish Co. Cudahy forging facility is a large forge shop with 1.7 million square feet under roof and approximately 1,000 employees. This facility engages in a wide variety of operations including open & closed die forging, manufacture of seamless rolled rings, heat treating, machining, and chemical etching. Ladish is subject to the EPA's Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions due to the on-site presence of propane used as a backup fuel and hydrofluoric acid used in solutions to etch titanium alloys. Propane storage and blending is done with a modern state of the art system built and operated in full compliance with NFPA codes. Comprehensive operating procedures, frequent equipment inspection and rigorous training are in place to assure safe conditions for our employees and the surrounding community. Our chemical etching operations as all other manufacturing processes are operated with quality system standards and procedures that have earned Ladish ISO 9002 certi fication. All acid processing tanks and storage areas are equipped with spill containment to minimize the potential of uncontrolled releases to the environment. Our accidental release prevention program also includes procedures for receiving, on-site transportation, process use, and treatment of spent materials for all acids used on site. Ladish has an emergency response program that includes an off-site spill plan registered with the Milwaukee County Division of Emergency Government, and an on-site Emergency Response Team trained to handle chemical specific spills. The Cudahy Fire Department is the primary responder in the event of an emergency. This Risk Management plan identifies worst case scenarios involving fire or explosion of propane. The worst case scenario would involve a release of the entire contents of a 30,000 gal propane tank to form a vapor cloud which is assumed to detonate. This could result in an overpressure endpoint that could extend .38 miles from our storage facility. An alternate scenario would involve a Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion of our largest storage tank. This could result in a potentially harmful heat level for a distance of .4 miles from our storage facility. The worst case scenario for an incident with hydrofluoric acid involves a spill of a 55 gal drum at our material receiving department. The contents of the drum are assumed to form a pool 1 cm deep which would then evaporate. This could result in a toxic endpoint that would extend .31 miles from the spill. An alternate worst case scenario would result from a spill of the entire contents of a 700 gal tank used to transport waste acid on-site for treatment. Similarly this is assumed to form a pool 1 cm deep which would evaporate. This scenario could also result in a toxic endpoint extending .31 miles from the spill. An alternate scenario involves the release of our largest process tank. This would be captured in a spill containment tank and would not affect any offsite receptors. As part of a plan to improve safety Ladish personnel have recently completed a compliance audit of our safety plans for propane and hydrofluoric acid use. Our present safety improvement efforts are focussing on increased frequency of training to reduce the possibility of human error. |