Perdue Farms - Dothan, Alabama - Executive Summary |
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Executive Summary Perdue Farms - Dothan, Alabama Description of the facility and the regulated substance: Perdue Farms Incorporated, founded in 1920 is the largest poultry producer in the Northeast and the third largest in the United States. Headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland, the family owned, privately held company has operations in 14 states. Twenty processing facilities produce about 50 million pounds of poultry products each week. Perdue also has grain storage and merchandising operations and is ranked among the top 20 largest U.S. grain companies. Perdue also manufactures edible oils, specialty feeds, livestock feed ingredients and premium pet food ingredients. The Perdue Farms Dothan facility is a poultry processing plant located at 808 Ross Clark Circle in Dothan, Alabama. This facility began operation in 1968. It is bounded by woods and light industrial operations to the west and north, the CSX Railroad to the south, and Ross Clark Circle to the east. The facility normally operates 24 hours per day, six days per week, and employs approximately 1,000 associates. The refrigeration department, however, works 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The regulated substance at the Dothan facility, covered by 40 CFR Part 68, is anhydrous ammonia (R-717). The facility utilizes anhydrous ammonia as integral part of its refrigeration system, which consists of several storage vessels, compressors, condensers, piping and air handling units thoughout the processing plant in order to maintain proper food safety temperatures. The total system capacity of anhydrous ammonia is 42,000 pounds. Accidental release prevention and emergency response policies: As a concerned member of the community, the company takes its role as a responsible corporate citizen very seriously. All Perdue facilities are operated to protect employees, contractors, and the public from injury and illness, and to minimize environmental impact. A company-wide safety and wellness program st resses safe conditions and safe practices. Perdue's policy is to inspect, maintain and operate equipment and facilities to prevent accidents, including release of hazardous materials; and to train employees in prevention, as well as to prepare them to respond rapidly and effectively should an accident occur. Perdue Farms has developed and implemented Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) and Process Safety Management (PSM) plans as part of an overall chemical management program. The program involves a wide-range of senior management personnel, including the Director of Environmental Services and the Director of Safety and Security. Additionally, Perdue conducts regular safety meetings and provides a wide variety of environmental, health, and safety training to the its staff. General accident release prevention program: The Perdue Farms Dothan facility maintains a Process Safety Management (PSM) Plan in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Administratio n (OSHA) regulation 29 CFR 1910.119. The Perdue Farms Dothan facility also utilizes a preventative maintenance program for its system components. As part of this program, trained maintenance personnel inspect the refrigeration system operating parameters and conduct routine maintenance, as needed. Worst-case release scenario: The predicted worst-case scenario (WCS) for the refrigeration system is the catastrophic failure of the High Pressure Receiver (HPR). The HPR has a maximum storage capacity of 42,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. Using the RMP Comp Ver 1.06 modeling software, the calculated distance to the toxic endpoint is 2.3 miles effecting schools, residences, hospitals, recreation areas, churches, and major commercial, office, or industrial areas. The estimated population within the 2.3 mile radius is 18,450 based on U.S. Census Bureau information contained in LANDVIEW III mapping software. Alternative release scenario: Several alternative release scenarios were consi dered. The selected alternative release scenario (ARS) for the refrigeration system is the release of anhydrous ammonia from a liquid line break on the red water chiller system. It was estimated that this type of scenario would result in an anhydrous ammonia release of 535 pounds. This type of release would occur within 15 minutes. Using the DEGADIS dispersion model, the calculated distance to the toxic endpoint is 0.16 miles affecting residences and major commercial, office, or industrial areas. The estimated population within the 0.16 mile radius is 91, based on U.S. Census Bureau information contained in LANDVIEW III mapping software. Five-year accident history: Over the last five years there has been one minor incident resulting in injury to a Perdue associate. The incident occurred on October 27, 1996 and involved an individual in close proximity to the release. A small amount of ammonia (less than one pound) trapped between two valves was released during the removal of a portion of discontinued piping. The exposure resulted in a permanent eye injury. The incident did not have an offsite consequence. There have been no other accidents that resulted in injury, death, or property or environmental damage. Emergency response program: In the event of an emergency involving our refrigeration system, the facility has a well defined incident command system. The written emergency response program includes procedures to safely evacuate the facility, minimize and/or contain the release and notify the appropriate local fire department and LEPC officials. Perdue continues to train its associates on hazardous responses and awareness, and conducts mock drills routinely. The facility has discussed its response program with the local LEPC and fire department representatives. As part of its Risk Management Program, Perdue Farms has developed an RMP Communications Plan. The goals of this plan are (1) to educate the public on the potential risk of regulated sub stances used by Perdue; (2) to respond to any concerns that RMP disclosures may cause with honest, fact-based communications; and (3) to be fully prepared to effectively respond to any accidental chemical release scenario. Proactive materials about the disclosure information, how the company is prepared to deal with an accident, how the community should respond to an accident, and a process for announcing that an accident has occurred (to be used as needed) are being prepared. In addition, training and information materials for the Perdue managers and employees, community officials, civic groups, the media, environmental groups, emergency response personnel and the public in general will be available. Planned changes to improve safety: As part of Perdue's continual improvement philosophy, all Perdue facilities continue to identify and update system components and techniques to ensure safety. |