HL POWER - Executive Summary |
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OEC / HL POWER RMP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I. ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION & EMERGENCY RESPONSE OEC / HL Power has in place administrative procedures to prevent accidental releases of site regulated substances. These policies can be found in the Process Safety Management Program and in the Business Plan. Emergency response procedures are in place and are presented to new hires as well as annual training for all employees. II. STATIONARY SOURCE & REGULATED SUBSTANCES HANDLED HL Power is a 35 MW wood fired power plant, which uses Anhydrous Ammonia for emission control, Propane and Natural gas for start-up and supplemental firing, and Chlorine, which is used in water treatment in the cooling tower and fire pond. The maximum quantities stored for these four (4) regulated substances are as follows: Anhydrous Ammonia -14,992 gallons or 77,428 pounds Propane - 15,212 gallons or 64,300 pounds Chlorine - 2 x 2,000 pounds or 4,000 pounds Natural Gas (Methane)- Pipeline - 10,000 pounds III. W ORST-CASE & ALTERNATIVE RELEASE SCENARIOS (RMP*Comp) Anhydrous Ammonia Worst Case Scenario: Tank is struck by a vehicle, which causes a catastrophic release of all contents of the tank. All contents are released in 10 minutes. Release rate is 7,743 pounds per minute. Toxic end point is 4.1 miles. Anhydrous Ammonia Alternative Case Scenario: Fire on adjacent Propane tank causes the pressure in the Ammonia tank to increase. This increase in pressure causes the tank relief valve to lift. Fog nozzle directed to ammonia tank, which causes the pressure to drop, which allows the relief valve to reseat. Release rate: 326 pounds per minute. Distance to toxic endpoint: 0.4 miles. Chlorine Worst Case Scenario: Welded seam fails releasing all contents of tank. All contents are released in 10 minutes. Rate of release: 200 pounds per minute. Distance to toxic endpoint: 3.0 miles. Chlorine Alternative Case Scenario: Regulator on end of cylinder blows out of tank leaving a 1-inch square hole. Rat e of release: 123 pounds per minute. Distance to toxic endpoint: 0.5 miles. Natural Gas (Methane) Worst Case scenario: Truck impacts pipeline, which results in a vapor cloud explosion. Quantity released: 10000 pounds. Distance to 1-psi overpressure is 0.2 miles. Natural Gas (Methane) Alternative Case scenario: Flange gasket fails, which results in a vapor cloud fire. Rate of release: 500 pounds per minute. Distance to Lower Flammability Limit: 0.1 miles. Propane Worst Case Scenario: Catastrophic tank failure causes a release of all contents of the tank, which results in a vapor cloud explosion. Distance to 1-psi overpressure is 0.3 miles. Propane Alternative Case Scenario: Delivery truck impacts tank causing a 3-inch square hole in tank which ignites (vapor cloud fire). Rate of release: 332 pounds per minute. Distance to Lower Flammability Limit: 0.1 miles. IV. ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION PROGRAMS HL Power has administrative procedures in place to prevent overfilling of the Am monia and Propane tanks. An offloading procedure has been developed to prevent releases during the filling of these tanks, and also one for unloading & replacing Chlorine cylinders. Plant speed limits are in place and enforced. A remote camera that is controlled from the control room is used to monitor offloading operations. All personnel receive training for all tasks involving these chemicals. Emergency procedures can be found in the Business Plan. Training information can be found in the Process Safety Management Program. Training material can also be found in the Certification Training Program. V. FIVE YEAR ACCIDENT HISTORY There have been no accidents involving three of the regulated substances. The Natural gas pipeline was completed in 1998, with no accidents to date. VI. THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM HL Power Emergency Response Program is contained in the Business Plan. This plan is reviewed annually and updated as needed. It is also distributed to all agencies as directe d. VII. PLANNED CHANGES TO IMPROVE SAFETY HL Power has a Safety committee that meets once each month to discuss and implement safety ideas. Weekly safety meetings are held for all personnel, weekly meetings include OSHA required training as well as site specific issues. All meetings have a test in which a passing score of at least 80% is required, a score under 80% requires retraining. |