Lake County Water Treatment West - Executive Summary |
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Lake County Water Treatment Facility West EPA Risk Management Plan "Executive Summary" The managers and employees of the Lake County Department of Utilities are strongly committed to the safety and health of the people of our communities, employees, and environment. This commitment is demonstrated at the Lake County Water Treatment Facility West by consistently meeting and exceeding, the many stringent regulatory requirements and standards we face daily for water quality and safety. Our facility's primary activity is the treatment and disinfection of potable water. Our current treatment technique uses chlorine as the main disinfectant. It is delivered by semi-truck in one ton containers. Once it arrives on our property, trained and qualified employees follow simple procedures to safely unload and store the chlorine. Using proper safety equipment & techniques, the cylinders are unloaded by crane from the truck into a specially designed enclosed storage room where they are stor ed until they are needed for the treatment process. The storage and feed room is constructed of fire resistant materials and is designed to help contain the material in the unlikely event of a leak. All material and equipment in the process are specifically designed and installed for the express purpose of handling chlorine. There are also specially designed sensors in the storage/feed room that are connected to various alarms that are conveniently located throughout the facility to alert plant personnel if a leak were to occur. In order to meet EPA inventory requirements, we have no more than eight (8) containers on site at any given time. Four (4) of these containers are kept on scales connected to the chemical feed process at any given time to ensure proper disinfection of the water our customers and their families consume. It is our responsibility and commitment to our communities, employees, families, and environment, to implement appropriate controls to ensure the prevent ion of possible releases of any substances or chemicals that may potentially affect life or health. This is covered in our accidental release prevention program which is included as part of our Emergency Operating Procedures and the plant's O&M Manual. The program covers areas such as hazard communications, facility and equipment design, equipment installation, operating procedures, chemical hazard awareness, maintenance, and employee training associated with the various processes at our facility. Our employee's participation and input have led to the refinement of these procedures. As a result of the expertise of our employee's and the procedures they use, there have been no accidental releases since our facility went on-line in December of 1984. Our responsibility to safety is further demonstrated by continually reviewing options which may reduce risks. An engineering study is being conducted for the purpose of installing of a special piece of equipment, called a chlorine scru bber, that will neutralize and store the controlled substance in the event a leak should occur. We are also considering an engineering study for the possible replacement of chlorine with a different chemical for disinfection. In spite of our record, and all the effort and time that we have invested in improving the process of handling chlorine at our facility, we know the risk of a chlorine leak, although small, is still possible. Another step we have taken to further ensure the safety of our community and employees is to use the EPA's software program for calculating theoretical release scenarios under our plant's current design conditions. While it is a highly improbable event to release the complete process inventory in a gaseous form over ten (10) minutes, this program estimates that a release of this magnitude could spread to a maximum distance of one and nine-tenths (1.9) mile. Another theoretical scenario calculation would be a release of approximately 160 pounds of chlor ine in a gaseous form over 30 minutes due to equipment failure. An event like this could spread to a maximum distance of less than one-tenth (0.1) mile. Unforeseeably, if such a release would occur, we are completely coordinated with City of Willoughby Fire Department in conjunction with the Lake County Hazard Intervention Team, which provides highly trained emergency response personnel to control and mitigate the effects of any such release. Since this facility went on-line, we have participated in several training exercises with the City of Willoughby Fire Department and the Lake County Hazard Intervention Team to prepare for the possibility of such an incident. Certification Statement To the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, formed after reasonable inquiry, the information submitted is true, accurate and complete. Name: Richard V. Douglas II Signature: Title: Superintendent Date signed: |