Port Allen Plant - Executive Summary |
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41390 LDEQ Facility ID Number ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE POLICIES Enterprise Products Operating L.P. Port Allen Plant Port Allen, Louisiana At Enterprise, we are committed to operating and maintaining all of our processes (especially those using hazardous substances) in a safe and responsible manner. We use a combination of accidental release prevention programs and emergency response planning programs to help ensure the safety of our employees and the public as well as protection of the environment. This document provides a brief overview of the comprehensive risk management activities that we have designed and implemented, including: * A description of our facility and use of substances regulated by EPA's RMP regulation * A summary of results from our assessment of the potential off site consequences from accidental chemical releases * An overview of our accidental release prevention programs * A five-year accident history for accidental rele ases of chemicals regulated by EPA's RMP rule * An overview of our emergency response program * An overview of planned improvements at the facility to help prevent accidental chemical releases from occurring and adversely affecting our employees, the public, and the environment STATIONARY SOURCE AND REGULATED SUBSTANCES Our facility will produce six products from a raw mix Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) feed stream. The products are ethane, propane, propylene, isobutane, normal butane and Natural Gasoline using a small variety of chemicals and fractionation processing operations. The facility is an integrated complex divided up into different operating units identified as the ACT Frac Unit and the Propylene Concentrator Unit (PCU). The PCU is scheduled for mechanical completion and commissioning during the third quarter of the year 2000. All feed streams to the units and product streams from the units are transported via pipelines. The liquefied petroleum gases and other liquid h ydrocarbons, produced, stored, and distributed at the complex are highly volatile, flammable, and explosive materials. The process units operated by Enterprise involve the processing of liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) into their individual components such as ethane, propane, propylene, isobutane, normal butane and natural gasoline. The primary separation process utilized is fractionation by distillation. Supplemental fired heat recovery units provide heat energy to the processes via a heat medium system. A gas turbine is utilized to drive a refrigeration compressor while recovering the heated exhaust gases in one of the fired heat recovery units. The facility utilizes an air assisted flare for any and all venting of the processes. In our processes, we use the following chemicals that EPA has identified as having the potential to cause significant off site consequences in the event of a substantial accidental release: Toxics There are no toxic chemicals to report. Flamm ables Ethane is a finished product at the Port Allen facility. This product stream is the overhead product from the DeEthanizer tower. Propane is a finished product. This product stream is the overhead product from the DePropanizer tower. Propylene is a finished product. This product stream is the overhead product from the Propylene Splitter tower. Butanes are produced from the overhead of the Debutanizer tower, which then are immediately fed to a DeIsobutanizer which separates the two types of butanes. Isobutane is a finished product from the overhead stream of the DeIsobutanizer. Normal Butane is a finished product from the bottoms stream of the Deisobutanizer. Natural Gasoline is a finished product from the bottoms stream of the Debutanizer consisting mostly of pentanes and hexanes. Our accidental release prevention programs and our contingency planning efforts help us effectively manage the hazards that are posed to our employees, the public, and the environment by our pr ocessing of these flammable chemicals. KEY OFFSITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS SCENARIOS EPA's RMP rule requires that we provide information about the worst-case release scenario(s) and alternative release scenario(s) for our facility. The following are brief summaries of these scenarios, including information about the key administrative controls and mitigation measures to limit the exposure distances for each scenario: Worst-case Release Scenario - Regulated Toxic Chemicals There are no regulated toxic chemicals on site and therefore there will be no worst-case release scenario reported. Alternative Release Scenario(s) - Regulated Toxic Chemicals There are no regulated toxic chemicals on site and therefore there will be no alternate-case release scenario reported. Worst-case Release Scenario - Regulated Flammable Chemicals This simulation involves the rupture or failure of the Propylene Splitter tower shell which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbons which are primarily Pro pylene and Propane, resulting in a vapor cloud explosion. The total release would be approximately 616,000 pounds. The simulated end point distance to the 1 psig overpressure would be approximately 0.69 miles. This scenario would not be mitigated due to the type of scenario modeled. All emergency response and early warning to the employees and the community would be exercised immediately if this were to occur. All ERT protocols would be in effect. The offsite consequence will not affect any of the residential population. There would be no off site environmental impact in this scenario due to the material being consumed on site. Alternative Release Scenario(s) - Regulated Flammable Chemicals The alternative release scenario is the simulation of a 3/4" bleed valve sheared from the Propylene Splitter tower. The material released would be a propylene/propane mix and would result in a vapor cloud explosion. The total release would be 10,400 pounds at a rate of 1,040 lbs/minute f or 10 minutes. The simulated end point distance to the 1 psig overpressure would be approximately 0.12 miles. This scenario would be mitigated by means of the emergency shutdown system and the activation of the emergency response team. All emergency response and early warning to the employees and the community would be exercised immediately if this were to occur. There would be no offsite public receiptors affected nor would there be any environmental impact in this scenario due to the material being consumed on site. We are using this information to help us ensure that our emergency response plan and the community emergency response plan address all reasonable contingency cases. GENERAL ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM AND CHEMICAL-SPECIFIC PREVENTION STEPS We take a systematic, proactive approach to preventing accidental releases of hazardous chemicals. Our Process Safety Management Systems address each of the key features of successful prevention programs including: * Process safety information * Process hazard analysis * Operating procedures * Training * Mechanical integrity * Management of change * Pre-Startup Safety review * Compliance audits * Incident investigation * Employee participation * Hot work permit * Contractors As part of our prevention efforts, we have a multitude of programs in which our employees participate. We have a training program in which the Operations and Maintenance personnel are specifically trained in the operations of the plant, the operating procedures, maintenance procedures, and specific other regulations and policies as well as train in all areas of emergency response. We train, use, and apply the guidelines of our PSM program which include all of the above listed areas. All of these programs come under scheduled scrutiny and critique. We have an ongoing inspection program designed to search out and find deficiencies with the process equipment prior to any incident. The Oper ations personnel make regular walk through inspections of the equipment and processes they operate. If anything out of the ordinary is found, it is repaired by the observer or reported to management in order to expediently resolve any problems. FIVE-YEAR ACCIDENT HISTORY As of the submission date, there have been no accidental chemical releases meeting the criteria for reporting. There is a management system in place to ensure that all significant accidental releases occurring at our facility will be properly reported and recorded. In the future, if there are any accidental releases, we will conduct incident investigations to identify and correct the root causes of any event(s) that may occur. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM We maintain an integrated contingency plan, which consolidates all of the various federal, state, and local regulatory requirements for emergency response planning. Our program provides the essential planning and training for effectively protecting workers, t he public, and the environment during emergency situations. Furthermore, we coordinate our plan with the West Baton Rouge Emergency Response Task Force which includes the Port Allen Police, Fire Dept., and Emergency Medical Service as well as West Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Management system. |