East Sewage Treatment Plant - Executive Summary

| Accident History | Chemicals | Emergency Response | Registration | Source | Executive Summary |

The accidental release prevention policy at this facility is proper employee training and tank handling procedures during transfer, connection and disconnection of chlorine and sulfur dioxide storage tanks; also training in proper maintenance of storage and process equipment.  The emergency response policy is to determine the nature of the release, and if it is severe enough to call 911 and notify hazmat and wait for them to respond, if it is a minor leak plant personnel will repair the leak themselves. 
 
The stationary source consists of four (4) one (1) ton cylinders of chlorine, and four (4) one (1) ton cylinders of sulfur dioxide. 
 
The worst case release scenario would consist of a rupture of the one ton cylinder of chlorine allowing all of the chlorine inside to be released in ten minutes, which would create a cloud of chlorine with a radius of 1.3 miles and an affected population of 16,000 people.  There are no passive mitigation measures in place to affect the severity of the rel 
ease. 
 
The alternative release scenario consists of a fusible plug blowing out of the chlorine cylinder, it will take approximately an hour for HAZMAT to respond to the release.  It will have a release rate of 2 lbs/min and will have a radius of effect of .1 miles and effect 10 people.  There is no active or passive mitigation in place at the facility. 
 
The second alternative release scenario consists of a fusible plug blowing out of the sulfur dioxide cylinder, it will take approximately an hour for HAZMAT to respond to the release.  It will have a release rate of 2 lbs/min and will have a radus of effect of .1 miles and effect 10 people.  There is no active or passive mitigation in place at the facility. 
 
Proper training of operators and maintenance personnel prevents accidental release and chemical specific hazards. 
 
There have been no accidents at the facility in the past five years. 
 
The emergency response program for the facility is based on HAZWOPER guidelines.  All operators an 
d maintenance personnel are properly trained in the use of PPE and how to handle emergencies related to a release of chlorine. 
 
Some changes that have been planned to improve safety are labeling all process equipment that contains chlorine and sulfur dioxide.
Click to return to beginning