North Plains Chemical Co., Inc. - Bernstein - Executive Summary |
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY North Plains Chemical Co., Inc. - Bernstein We are a fertilizer retail facility. The only material considered hazardous at this facility is anhydrous ammonia. This facility has one 11,000 gallon tank, one 8,000 gallon tank, and one 6,000 gallon tank, equipment for receiving ammonia by truck and equipment for transferring ammonia from storage to trucks for delivery to customers. It is our policy to meet, or exceed, all local, state, and national standards relating to handling ammonia. In the past five years, we have not had any accidents or releases with off-site consequences. Specific safety features that we employ to minimize the impact of an accidental release include: 1. Excess flow valves to prevent flow from the tank if any hose or line breaks. 2. Pressure relief valves on the storage tank to prevent overpressuring and rupture of the tank. 3. Inspections by insurance loss control specialists to ensure that our equipment is maintained in a manner that ensur es safe operation and prevents releases. To further ensure safe operation of the facility, our employees are trained in procedures for safe handling of hazardous materials, and in safe operating and maintenance procedures. We have also coordinated with the Gruver Volunteer Fire Department to respond in the unlikely event of an emergency. As required by the EPA, we have analyzed the worst-case release scenario defined by the EPA. This scenario involves a release of the entire contents of the storage tank. According to information supplied by the EPA a release according to this scenario would include several residences in the Berstein area, but no hospitals, schools, or commercial areas.. It is extremely unlikely that an event such as EPA?s worst-case release scenario will ever occur. A more probable, but still highly unlikely event, would be an event like a hose break during a truck pull away. According to information supplied by the EPA, such a release would not affect any reside nces, hospitals, schools, or commercial areas. Our registration information indicates no full-time employees at this site. This is because this facility is an unmanned facility, and employees are only at the site for the brief time it takes to fill a truck. |