PIRTLE SPRINGS PLANT - Executive Summary |
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The Hardin County Water District No.1's (HCWD#1) Pirtle Springs Water Treatment Plant (PWP) has been active in reducing risks associated with using Chlorine gas (cl2) as a disinfectant in our water treatment process. Over the past years, HCWD#1 has spent $20,000 for a building to store and confine 2,000 lb (4 total) chlorine cylinders to minimize escaping cl2 gas, a cl2 gas detector was installed to instantly set off alarms if a cl2 leak is detected over 3 ppm (parts per million) so HCWD#1 could take immediate action to notify surrounding residences, police, medical personnel, fire department and local government agencies. PWP's plan for accidental release prevention is following Standard Operating Procedures (s.o.p.'s) in handling cl2, daily inspections by the operators of the equipment used in the processes and routine maintenance on the equipment used in the processes. Reviewing chlorine handling safety video's , periodically reviewing sop's. Emergency response procedures at our facility is as follows. 1.Notify the facility emergency response coordinator or the alternate of the Potential problem. 2.Put on appropriate personal protective equipment(ppe) (ma air pack , rubber gloves, etc.) 3.Verify leak visually with ammonia. 4.Should a leak be confirmed, plant personnel should place the following equipment in the company vehicle and evacuate the site, back up ma air pack , cordless phone , hand held radio, tab q-7 book 5.Prior to exiting the plant the wind direction should be observed and noted. Wind direction will dictate personnel evacuation route as well as emergency response personnel's approach to the plant 6.At first opportunity, once clear from the site, evacuating personnel should contact Mr. Alfie Martin via phone (270-862-3810) and advise him that their is a chlorine leak and that he and his family should evacuate. He is the most immediate neighbor to the plant. 7.In the event phone contact is unobtainable via cordless phone, contact the HCWD#1 main office (270-351-3222) by radio and advise the operator on duty there to contact Mr. martin immediately. 8.Once evacuated from the plant and as soon as the Martin family has been notified, plant personnel are to begin notifying the people and/or agencies identified on pages q-7-11-2 and q-7-11-3 and on q-7-11 form for the plant 9.When contacting emergency services, personnel on site should provide the following information: A identify who you are. B identify the plant location C identify your location D advise as to the nature of the emergency (chlorine leak) E advise as to wind direction and best direction to approach the plant F remind those you contact that the staging area is grass's food mart on Hwy. 1357 G advise those contacted that the company radio frequency is 173.39625 H give them the number of the cordless phone I remind the contact, once again where you are and that your primary responsibility at this point is to close shipley road and make emergency contacts. 1 0.HCWD#1 primary objective at this point is to: A to keep the general population out of harms way(keep shipley road closed) B notify emergency response personnel of the situation C stay in radio contact with the main office D keep the cordless phone with you E keep your self out of harms way HCWD#1 PWP is located in Cecilia , Kentucky. Raw water for PWP is pumped in from a spring called Pirtle Springs. The raw (untreated) water is then put thru a process called coagulation and flocculation by means of chemicals. These chemicals take out dirt and impurities found in raw water. During this process cl2 (chlorine) is added, disinfecting the water as it goes through this process. It then it travels to the next process that is called filtration. This is where the water is filtered and the filters remove 99.99% of impurities in the water and then again it is disinfected for a 2nd time and then travels to a storage tank where it is pumped sixteen miles into the City of Radcliff (over 9,00 0 customers) and also supplying water to the City of Vine Grove, HCWD#2 and Meade County Water District #1. The PWP can provide up to 2.3 million gallons of drinking water per day. We can store up to 8,000 lbs.(four two ton cylinders) of chlorine- but only one is used at a time in the disinfection process. The worst case and the alternate release scenario's are both the same and are based on DES's (Disaster Emergency Services) past experience's dealing with emergencies, DES assisted HCWD#1 in modeling our scenario's using a cameo, nreg, and the technical guidance for hazards analysis and/or equivalent alternatives. It is very unlikely that deaths would occur should an accidental release happened. It is likely that there would be some injuries due to evacuations and breathing in large amounts of cl2 gas in the down wind area. Cl2 gas is heavier than air and will seek the low lying areas in the down wind evacuation area, for example: basements. In the worst case and the alternate s cenario's it would seem to indicate that some farm animals could be injured. It would be impossible to evacuate the animals out of the down wind area. The PWP has not had a chlorine leak since it was built in 1982. |