Royster-Clark, Inc. Wilmington - Executive Summary |
|
1. Accidental release prevention and emergency response policies; The management and the employees of the Wilmington plant of Royster - Clark, Inc., are committed to the prevention of any accidental release of Anhydrous Ammonia at the Wilmington facility. If any accidental release should occur at the facility, personnel are prepared to work with the New Hanover County LEPC and the New Hanover Station 5 Fire Department, or other authorities to mitigate any release and minimize the impact of the release on people and the environment. 2. The stationary source and regulatory substance handled; The primary activity at the Wilmington facility of Royster - Clark, Inc., is the manufacture of fertilizer for sale to the agriculture user (farmer). Anhydrous Ammonia is received, generally by Railroad Tank Cars or occasionally by tanker trucks, stored, and used from the storage tank in the manufacture of mixed-grade fertilizers for plant nutrients. The maximum quantity of Anhydrous Ammonia st ored at this facility would be 368,000 pounds (130,000 pounds in a 30,000 gallon storage tank filled to 80% capacity, which is a facility policy, 78,000 pounds in a 18,000 gallon storage tank, filled to 80% and 160,000 pounds contained in a loaded Rail Tank Car). This maximum storage would only happen in rare circumstance. 3. The Worst-Case Release Scenario and the Alternate Release Scenario; a. The Worst Case Release Scenario would be the release of the contents of Anhydrous Ammonia from a fully loaded Railroad Tank Car released as a gas in a ten minute period. The maximum quantity of Anhydrous Ammonia released would be 160,000 pounds, which is the capacity of the Railroad cars.The distance to an end point of 200 ppm of ammonia, as determined by The Fertilizer Institute's model - Degadis, is 1.22 miles. This release would affect 100 residents and some commercial, office and industrial areas.The possibility of this Worst-Case Scenario occurring is extremely unlikely as the Railroad Tank car is place in an isolated area of the facility and these Railroad Tank cars are periodically inspected according to Department of Transportation requirements. b. The Alternate Release Scenario based on the most likely potential incident, is a release of Anhydrous Ammonia from a break in a 2" transfer hose , during the unloading procedure, with the release discontinued in 2 minutes. The calculated quantity of Anhydrous Ammonia released would be 11,900 pounds. The distance to an end point of 200 ppm of ammonia as determined by The Fertilizer Institute's model Degadis is 0.56 miles. This release would affect 10 residentsand some commercial, office and industrial areas. The possibility of this Alternate Release Scenario occurring is extremely unlikely as Wilmington personnel periodically inspect, repair, and replace involved equipment according to standard procedures. 4. The General Accidental release Prevention Program; The facility has implemented the provisions of "Safety Requirements for the Storage and Handling of Anhydrous Ammonia, K-61.1" published by the American National Standard Institute, Inc.; The standard of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.111 "Storage and Handling of Anhydrous Ammonia" and OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 Process Safety Management Standard. 5. The Five-Year Accident History; This facility has had no accidental releases of Anhydrous Ammonia in the last five years that have caused any deaths, injuries, or property damage on site, or has resulted in any offsite deaths, injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place, property damage, or environmental damage. 6. The Emergency Response program; This facility has: a. A written Emergency Action Plan, in accordance with OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.38; b. Provided state and local authorities and the fire department the emergency planning and community right-to know information as required under SARA Title III (EPCRA). c. A written response program, in accordance with the OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.120, including pre-emergency planning and employee training. This facilitie's Emergency Response Program has been discussed with and reviewed by The New Hanover Station 5 Fire Department which annually inspects the facility. 7. Planned changes to improve safety; Safety improvement is an on-going process at this facility. Periodic evaluations are performed to assess the effectiveness of safety practices and the proper maintenance of the faciliity. There are no additional specific Anhydrous Ammonia safety recommendations for implementation at this time. |