Worthington Industrial Treatment Facility - Executive Summary |
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The Worthington Industrial Treatment Facility (WITF) is committed to the implementation of safe procedures for chlorine that is stored and utilized at their facility. The facility has an extensive Risk Management Program that follows OSHA and EPA guidelines. The program emphasizes employee training, emergency response, and equipment inspection/ maintenance. The WITF stores and utilizes chlorine, which is a regulated substance under this rule. This substance is stored in one-ton containers. The maximum quantity on-site at any given time is 6000 lb. Chlorine is used for the disinfection of treated wastewater prior to discharge. RMPcomp software was used to conduct the worst-case release scenario for chlorine. The analysis calculated an impact radius of 3.0 miles. This impact radius would result in an offsite impact (members of the pubic could be exposed to toxic concentrations). For the alternative scenario, the same procedures were used as listed above for the worst- c ase release scenario. Additionally, enclosures (e.g. buildings) were considered as passive mitigation measures in the analysis, which reduced the impact of a potential release. The scenario chosen for analysis was a leaking gasket at the connection between the chlorine feed lines and the container. The analysis showed an impact radius of 0.1 miles. This impact radius would result in an off-site impact. The WITF's Risk Management Program covers all aspects of safely handling/storing chlorine. This program requires employees to routinely inspect and maintain all process equipment. The program requires that employees receive training on all aspects of process equipment to ensure a safe operating environment, and more importantly, to minimize the possibility of a release. The WITF has had no accidental releases of chlorine within the past five years. This facility does not have its own emergency response program. Response to releases and public notification w ill be handled by local response agencies. The facility is in the process of reactivating a dialer system that will be capable of notifying personnel of a release during non-working hours. This will ensure that a release can be identified and responded to 24 hours per day. |