Mallinckrodt Baker, Inc. Phillipsburg, NJ Plant - Executive Summary |
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GENERAL Mallinckrodt Baker, Inc. operates a facillity located at 600 N. Broad Street in Phillipsburg, NJ. The facility manufactures product for the laboratory, pharmaceutical, and microelectronics industries. The Phillipsburg Plant operates under various risk management programs for hazardous materials including the New Jersey Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act (NJ TCPA) and the Discharge Prevention, Containment, and Countermeasure Act (NJ DPCC), and the Federal Process Safety Management Regulation (OSHA PSM) and Clean Air Act Risk Management Program (EPA-RMP). ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN It is Mallinckrodt Baker's objective to provide a safe and healthful work environment through the prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses, and preventing offsite impacts to public receptors and the environment. Mallinckrodt Baker will develop, manufacture, use, distribute, and dispose of chemical products safely and in a manner that insures protection of health and the environment. The company is committed to providing the necessary information and support to employees, customers, distributors, contractors, and the general public so that the same, high standard of care is applied in the handling of our products throughout their life cycle. FACILITY DESCRIPTION AND REGULATED SUBSTANCES Mallinckrodt Baker - Phillipsburg manufactures inorganic and organic salts and purifies acids and solvents. The facility is located on a 25-acre parcel in Phillipsburg, NJ and Lopatcong Township, NJ, and is comprised of about 60 buildings containing manufacturing operations, utility services, and warehousing. The three EPA-regulated products are ammonia, pentane, and ethyl ether. All three products are purified on site either through filtration or distillation. Ammonia is mixed with other materials to form organic and inorgan ic salts and solutions. WORST CASE AND ALTERNATE RELEASE SCENARIOS All models were run using either EPA's RMP Comp for toxics and the EPA's OCA Guidance Reference for flammables. In the worst case scenarios, a catastrophic failure of the largest process vessel over a ten minute duration was considered and modeled at a wind speed of 1.5 m/sec in "F" class atmospheric conditions. Toxics Worst Case - Anhydrous Ammonia A tank truck of ammonia ruptures catastrophically while unloading. The truck discharges the entire 36,000-lb load in 10 minutes. No emergency response is enacted, no safety devices function, and all of the material evaporates. The EPA modeling techniques indicate a plume extending up to 2.3 miles. There are approximately 23,000 residents in the included area. Only a fraction of these residents would be affected in this unlikely event due to plume effects. Alternate scenario - Ammonia A transfer hose develops 1/4" hole during truck unloading. The release continues for 15 minutes until the operator activates the automatic shutdown system. 1,770 lbs are released. The release plume is substantively reduced through the efforts of the response team, in combination with the installed water spray and foam vapor suppression systems. The potentially effected radius under "D" class conditions and average temperatures is 0.10 mile. There are approximately 0 residents in the included area. Flammables Worst case - Pentane A tannk-wagon of pentane ruptures catastrophically while unloading. The wagon discharges the entire 45,000-lb. load in 10 minutes. No emergency response in enacted, no safety devices function, and all of the material evaporates. A vapor plume disperses off-site and is subsequently ignited causing a vapor cloud explosion. The EPA modeling techniques indicate an instantaneous overpressure condition of 1 psi felt at a distance of 0.28 miles. There are approximately 367 residents in the included area. Alternate scenario - Pentane A pallet of 127 styrofoam encased in cardboard box 4L glass pentane bottles is spilled, and all bottles break on impact. A pool fire results requiring the emergency response team to be activated. The effect of this fire will be felt at a distance of 0.023 miles. There are approximately 0 residents in the affected area. FIVE YEAR ACCIDENT HISTORY Mallinckrodt Baker handles millions of pounds of regulated products each year. There have been no incidents which have involved deaths, injuries, or significant property damage on or off-site, and there are no instances of adverse impact to the employees, community, or the environment in the past five years. THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM Mallinckrodt Baker Phillipsburg has an emergency response program that includes administrative and operational response procedures, training, and drills. This program includes interface with the LEPCs and other emergency response groups, and has been audited by state and federal agencies many times. MBI works closely with the local response organizations, has included representatives as drill observers, and supports responder training through the loan of equipment and facilities for training purposes. PLANNED CHANGES TO IMPROVE SAFETY Mallinckrodt Baker uses a variety of means to prevent accidental releases. These include written procedures and training, preventive maintenance, change management and permitting procedures, incident investigations, inspections, audits and drills. Additionally, there are many engineering controls in place that include remote sensing alarms, automatic shutdown systems, pressure relief systems, spill containment, and water and foam vapor suppression systems that provide multiple layers of protection. An active Process Safety engineering efforts, various internal leadership teams and audits by corporate, local, state, and federal agencies further insure an environment of continuous improvement and incremental risk reduction. |