Chevron Chemical Company, LLC - Port Arthur Plant - Executive Summary |
|
Chevron Chemical Company operates a synthetic organic chemical manufacturing plant in Port Arthur, Texas. Chevron Chemical is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, headquartered in San Francisco, California. Chevron is an international petroleum and chemical company. The Chevron Chemical Port Arthur Plant has been designed and built to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. This facility is designed and operated in accordance with industry standards developed and promulgated by trade organizations such as API, ASME, ASTM, ANSI, NFPA, and NEMA. In addition, Chevron Chemical operates this facility in accordance with internal company standards and procedures that employ good engineering practice and industry accepted principles and codes. Chevron has instituted operating practices and training procedures that are designed to provide a safe work environment and protect our neighbors. The Port Arthur Plant employs approximately 271 full time equivale nt employees. This facility is managed by Mr. Bill Schumacher, Plant Manager, he can be contacted at 409-985-0700. Mr. John Walter, Supervisor of Environmental, Health, and Safety; is responsible for RMP implementation for this site, his phone number is 409-985-0902. Jefferson County Local Emergency Planning Committee (409-722-4341) is the primary organization responsible for coordinating emergency response operations for this area. Chevron Chemical is an active member of this organization. Chevron Chemical is also a member of Sabine Neches Chiefs Associaton, a mutual assistance emergency response organization dedicated to providing fire protection and safety management resources to the petrochemical industry of Jefferson County. In the event of a major release of any hazardous substance or a fire, Chevron Chemical would coordinate emergency response with these groups as well as the appropriate governmental agencies. This plant uses light hydrocarbon feedstocks purchased from refineries to make the following products: benzene, cumene, cyclohexane, ethylene, propylene, butadiene, toluene, and xylene. This plant consists of several process units designed to make these products. Greater than threshold quantities of the following flammable regulated substances are found in this plant: ethylene, ethane, propylene, propane, butenes, butanes, pentenes, and pentanes. Chlorine is the only toxic regulated substance found in greater than threshold quantity. This facility includes 3 RMP covered processes, that we have identified as Cumene Unit, Ethylene Unit, and UDEX/Cyclohexane Unit. All three utilize chlorine in greater than threshold quantities and are classified as Prevention Program 3 facilities. The Cumene Unit and Ethylene Unit also contain mixtures of flammable regulated substances in greater than threshold quantities. The UDEX/Cyclohexane Unit does not contain flammable regulated substances in greater than threshold quantities, either as a RMP fla mmable mixture or pure substance. In accordance with EPA's guidelines for analyzing accidental releases, Chevron has performed hazard assessments for flammable regulated substances and chlorine. Under the Worst Case Scenario guidelines, a vapor cloud explosion involving 2.2 million pounds of butadiene is predicted to cause a 1 psi overpressure condition that would be felt up to 1 mile away. No credit for mitigation systems was considered in this case. This quantity is based on the capacity of the largest storage vessel that contains a RMP regulated flammable substance. For the Alternate Release Scenario, we have estimated 26400 pounds of butadiene is released by a pipe rupture that continues for 60 minutes before a flash fire occurs. This flash fire is estimated to reach < 0.10 miles from the leak point. No credit for any mitigation methods was taken. Our plant has many preventive and mitigation measures that would greatly reduce the likelihood or severity of a release of fla mmable materials or a resulting fire. These measures are detailed in the Prevention Program section of the RMP Plan. For chlorine, we have used a 10 minute leak that completely empties a 2000 pound container of liquid chlorine for the toxic Worst Case Scenario. The impact distance for this release is predicted to be 1.3 miles. No credit for any mitigation was considered. The chlorine Alternate Release Scenario is based on a leak caused by a puncture of the system that continues for 60 minutes. The predicted impact of the chlorine Alternate Release Scenario is 0.1 miles, this result assumes that no mitigation measures are taken. Chevron Chemical Plant has many preventive and mitigation measures that would reduce the likelihood of a release or greatly reduce the impact of a chlorine release. All calculations of flammable and toxic substance releases were performed using EPA's RMP*Comp software. This facility is covered by OSHA Process Safety Management regulations. We are in compliance with the PSM regulations. This facility is also covered by numerous EPA and Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission regulatory requirements designed to limit the impact on the environment, we are also in compliance with these regulations. We have had no RMP reportable accidents for any RMP regulated substances in the past 5 years at the Port Arthur Plant. We have had releases of other chemicals and have taken proactive precautionary measures (such as road closings) to ensure the safety of the general public. Chevron Chemical is constantly reviewing our plant's physical facilities and operations to maintain a safe place for our employees to work and minimize environmental impacts. Although we have adopted a program of continuous improvement, we currently have no plans to implement any major changes in our plant design, operating procedures, or safety systems to report at this time. |