ALDI, Inc. - Center Valley Facility - Executive Summary

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
ALDI Inc. - Center Valley Facility 
 
General 
 
ALDI Inc - Center Valley Facility is a distribution facility that stores various perishable products.  As such a refrigeration system is required to maintain product temperatures.  The refrigerant chosen to accomplish this task is anhydrous ammonia.  While recognizing the hazards of ammonia, ALDI Inc - Center Valley Facility strives to maintain the safest refrigeration system possible in order to protect employees, neighbors and the environment. 
 
1.0  Identification of Covered Process 
 
ALDI Inc. - Center Valley Facility utilizes anhydrous ammonia as the refrigerant to maintain temperatures in the warehouse.  The overall plant charge is in excess of 10,000 pounds and as such the OSHA Process Safety Management and EPA List Rule applies. 
 
2.0  Program Level 
 
The ammonia refrigeration system falls under the Program 3 guidelines. 
 
3.0  Management System 
 
The management personnel with overall responsibility for the program is the 
Director of Warehousing. 
 
4.0  Hazard Assessment 
 
A hazard analysis has been performed on the Ammonia Refrigeration System.  Three portions are included in this assessment. 
 
4.1  Worst Case Scenario - The worst case scenario, as defined by the EPA which states " the owner / operator shall assume that the maximum quantity in the largest vessel is released as a gas over 10 minutes, due to an unspecified failure".  Atmospheric dispersion modeling has been performed to determine the distance traveled by the anhydrous ammonia before its concentration decreases to the toxic endpoint of 3 ppm.  This level is defined by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) as the concentration at which, it is believed, all individuals could be exposed without irreversible or serious health effects that would prevent protective action.  As a result of the worst case evaluation, a radius of 1.3 miles has been determined and an affected population of 1528.  Please refer to the worse case section fo 
r specific details. 
 
4.2  Alternative Case Scenario - The alternative case scenario was perfomed as described above for the worst case scenario with the exception that the alternative case evaluates the release over 60 minutes.  The result of this evaluation was a radius of 0.2 miles with an affected population of 0.  Please refer to the alternative case section for specific details. 
 
4.3  Five Year Accident History - The ALDI Inc. - Lehigh Valley Facility has not experienced a release over the past five years. 
 
5.0  Accident Prevention Program - ALDI Inc. - Center Valley Facility is in full compliance with OSHA Process Safety Managment guidelines as the method of Accident Prevention.  The Accident Prevention and PSM program emphasize: operator training, preventive maintenance, state of the art equipment, use of accurate operating procedures, hazard reviews of the system, ammonia awareness and proper auditing & inspection programs. 
 
6.0  Emergency Response Program - ALDI Inc. - Center  
Valley Facility utiilzes a unified approach in handling emergencies that may arise in regard to the ammonia refrigeration system.  All OSHA and EPA guidelines are adhered to and the Local Emergency Planning agencies have been consulted and a comprehensive response plan developed.  ALDI Inc. - Center Valley Facility does not play an active role in the emergency response, however personnel have been trained to assist local authorities in responding to an incident.  The emergency response plan is reviewed annually and all parties are to be informed of any facility changes.
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