Muscatine Plant - Monsanto Company - Executive Summary |
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RMP Executive Summary Monsanto Company - Muscatine, Iowa Monsanto is an agricultural science company committed to finding solutions to the growing global needs for food and health by sharing common forms of science and technology among agriculture, nutrition and health. The company?s 14,000 employees worldwide make and market high-value agricultural products. One of the locations contributing to this vision is Monsanto's plant located in Muscatine, Iowa, at 2500 Wiggins Road. St. Louis Headquarters, located at 800 N. Lindbergh Blvd in Creve Coeur, Missouri. The work of the plant involves the manufacture of herbicide active ingredients and formulation of these active ingredients into various formulations. This update is being triggered by the shutdown of the plastics manufacturing unit at Monsanto's Muscating Plant. The shutdown and dismantling of this unit eliminated one Program 3 process and two chemicals that were covered by the RMP regulations: acrylonitire and butadiene . The major elements of the RMP prevention program are very similar to OSHA?s PSM regulation. OSHA has conducted an audit of our facility under their Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) and, in 1995, we were awarded their highest rating - "Star". Receipt of this award demonstrates our commitment to the safety and health of employees and the surrounding community as well as protection of the environment. Our location has a documented Emergency Response plan which includes defined responsibilities and actions to be implemented for a number of events, including inclement weather, fire and toxic chemical releases. There are personnel responsible for implementation of this procedure on site at all times. In general, the plan describes actions which result in a safe response for company employees as well as prompt notification of community organizations. The plan has been integrated with the Muscatine County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the Fruitland Volunteer Fire Dep artment. Should an incident occur which could jeopardize the safety and health of personnel in the area surrounding Monsanto plant, the following events would occur: -Monsanto's emergency response team would be called upon to control the incident, -the Muscatine County Sheriff would be notified During the past 5 years, only one event has occurred which could have jeopardized the community. A process incident occurred on February 8, 1999, which caused the relief devices on a reactor in the ABS Plastics area to relieve and discharge some of the contents of the reactor to the atmosphere. Approximately 2000 pounds of acrylonitrile and 3500 pounds of styrene were released to the atmosphere. The Emergency Response Plan was put into effect immediately. There were no injuries either on-site or within the community. This incident was investigated per Monsanto procedure, and all recommendations made by the investigating committee have been completed. The unit which manufactured A BS plastics has been shutdown and dismantled. This location handles four chemicals regulated by the RMP: chlorine, ammonia, formaldehyde, and isopropylamine. The consequences of several release scenarios for each chemical has been calculated using methods provided by the EPA. The worst case scenario for each chemical requires that the entire contents of the vessel be discharged to the atmosphere in a 10 minute period. This would be an extremely rare event and very unlikely to occur. The worst case toxic release scenario for this plant involves the instantaneous release of the entire contents of a chlorine rail car. The worst case scenario for a flammable is similarly the complete and instantaneous release of a full rail car of isopryplyamine and a resulting vapor cloud explosion. The regulation also requires an analysis of alternate release scenarios. Monsanto evaluated several release scenarios for each chemical: unloading hose failure, complete removal of the large st nozzle on the storage tank or rail car, and relief device failure. We employ a comprehensive collection of safety systems to maintain the equipment and work practices utilized in our operation. Some examples include: -A Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) is conducted every 5 years or more frequently. This involves a team of experts who review the hazards posed by the chemical, best industry practices for handling the material and a defined system to identify hazards. Recommendations for improvement are made and priority placed on implementing them in an prompt manner. -Our mechanical integrity system requires regular inspection of the equipment, relief devices and other systems utilized in handling the material. -Instructions have been developed to provide detailed actions for employees operating the equipment. They are reviewed annually with active involvement from operating personnel. -A change management system is utilized for modifications to equipment and operating par ameters. Each change is appropriately reviewed by a team of personnel to determine if there is any impact to system safety. -The site utilizes a number of contract personnel for a variety of services. Our Contractor/Guest program requires that contractors be selected using their actual safety performance as a criteria and open communication must exist between Monsanto and contract employees to identify and control hazards. In addition, we utilize a number of systems for specific chemicals. Examples include: -area monitors to quickly detect leaks, -emergency chlorine cylinder repair kits, -water sprinkler systems to extinguish process fires, and -excess flow valves which will stop chlorine flow under certain conditions. Both the general and chemical specific systems work together to minimize the frequency and consequences of chemical releases. This brief summary provides some insight into the extensive system Monsanto utilizes to maintain safe operations. If you would like additional information about Monsanto, please visit our Internet home page at www.monsanto.com and follow the links to the Muscatine Plant home page. If you have questions about this RMP, please contact us at (319) 263-0093. |