Big Island Water Works - Executive Summary

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                       EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR THE CITY OF 
                     SANDUSKY'S BIG ISLAND WATER WORKS 
                              RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN 
 
 
GENERAL 
 
The  Sandusky  Big Island Water Works is a municipally-owned  and 
operated  water purification facility.  Chlorine is used  in  the 
potable  water treatment process for disinfection.  The  existing 
chlorination system utilizes gaseous chlorine and is comprised of 
equipment in the Chlorine Building.  The City routinely maintains 
8,000  to  16,000 pounds of chlorine on site and is  required  to 
comply with RMP regulations. 
 
Chlorine  is delivered to the Big Island Water Works in  one  ton 
steel  containers or cylinders.  A loading area is provided  just 
north  of the Chlorine Building to unload full cylinders  from  a 
delivery truck into storage.  Full cylinders are removed from the 
delivery truck using a fork lift and are set below a monorail and 
hoist   for  transporting  into  the  Chlorine  Building.   Empty 

ylinders  are loaded onto the truck for return to  the  chlorine 
supplier  in a similar manner.  Outdoor storage of full or  empty 
chlorine  containers  is  prohibited by current  plant  operating 
practices. 
 
Chlorine  gas  is  supplied under pressure to both  a  dual  pre- 
chlorination unit and a dual post-chlorination unit and is  mixed 
with water to produce a chlorine solution.  Chlorine solution  is 
supplied  under pressure to the filter effluent piping and  to  a 
rapid  mix  chamber for disinfection purposes.  Typical  chlorine 
feed  rates  are 150 lbs/day for pre-chlorination and 50  lbs/day 
for post-chlorination. 
 
 
ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE POLICIES 
 
The  Sandusky Big Island Water Work's approach to chemical safety 
focuses  on  training and safety awareness.  Plant operators  are 
annually  trained on operational and safety practices  associated 
with  chlorine and chlorine feed equipment.  The training program 
currently   utilizes  presentations  by  lo 
cal  chlorine   supply 
professionals  to routinely refresh operators' understanding  and 
knowledge  base  on  the  safe handling procedures  and  accident 
prevention procedures for chlorine.  The Sandusky Water Plant  is 
a  secure  facility and only authorized plant personnel  maintain 
and handle the chlorine containers and feed equipment. 
 
Because of the City's commitment to safety and implementation  of 
safe  procedures  for  the  chlorine  facilities,  new  policies, 
procedures  and  instructional programs have  been  developed  in 
conjunction with completion of this Risk Management Plan.  A new, 
updated Emergency Response Plan has been prepared.  The City will 
continue  to coordinate with the City of Sandusky Fire Department 
in  this  regard  and  will  have better  defined  procedures  in 
conjunction  with  its participation.  A new management  program, 
training program and Operations and Maintenance Manual have  also 
been  developed and will be utilized by the Water Plant staff   
to 
safely  manage and operate the chlorine facilities  in  the  near 
future. 
 
 
WORST-CASE RELEASE SCENARIO 
 
The worst case scenario assumes the complete release of a one ton 
chlorine  cylinder within the prescribed 10 minute  period.   The 
model  used for this scenario is USEPA's RMP Comp.  The  distance 
to the worst case scenario endpoint would be 1.65 miles.  Passive 
mitigation  factors  were  used in the  RMP  Comp  model  as  all 
chlorine is stored indoors. 
 
ALTERNATIVE RELEASE SCENARIO 
 
The alternative release scenario assumes a feed line leak from  a 
one ton cylinder in service.  For this scenario, a total of 1,845 
pounds  of  chlorine would be released over a 15  minute  period. 
The distance to the endpoint would be 0.5 miles. 
 
 
ACCIDENTAL  RELEASE  PREVENTION  PROGRAM  AND  CHEMICAL  SPECIFIC 
PREVENTION STEPS 
 
The  Sandusky Big Island Water Works complies with the OSHA Rules 
and Regulations with respect to the Accidental Release Prevention 
Program.   Chemical specific preventio 
n steps include  compliance 
with  all Ohio EPA requirements , Recommended Standards for Water 
Works,   1997  (Ten  State  Standards)  and  Chlorine   Institute 
Standards  and Regulations Concerning Chlorination Equipment  and 
Facilities for Public Water Supplies. 
 
 
FIVE-YEAR ACCIDENT HISTORY 
 
The  Sandusky  Big  Island  Water Works  has  had  no  accidental 
releases of chlorine in the past five years.  There have been  no 
accidental  chlorine releases in the known history of  the  plant 
which resulted in injury to off-site personnel or evacuations. 
 
 
EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM 
 
The  key element of the Emergency Response Program is the written 
Emergency Response Plan on file at the Water Treatment Plant  and 
at  offices  of the City in downtown Sandusky.  The written  Plan 
includes  a  Quick Reference Guide which allows  an  operator  to 
immediately and positively act in case of an observed or detected 
chlorine   leak.   The  Erie  County  Local  Emergency   Planning 
Committee  is  the  
overall  coordinator  of  emergency  response 
services.  The City will maintain its current approach  to  first 
contact  the  City  of Sandusky Fire Department  in  case  of  an 
emergency  as  part of the County's current program.   Additional 
notification procedures are also defined. 
 
The  Emergency  Response  Plan  includes  first  aid  procedures, 
medical  management  of chlorine exposure information,  emergency 
response  training and pre-emergency coordination guidelines.   A 
summary  of emergency chlorine leak response procedures  is  also 
included. 
 
 
PLANNED CHANGES TO IMPROVE SAFETY 
 
The  City  of  Sandusky has committed to review  and  follow  the 
guidelines  presented  in the Emergency Response  Plan,  Training 
Program and Management Program.
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