Praxair - Chesterton, IN - Executive Summary |
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Praxair operates a hydrogen storage facility at Chesterton, IN that stores liquid hydrogen in two cryogenic storage vessels with a total capacity of about 20,400 pounds of hydrogen liquid. Product is placed in the tank by truck. It is later vaporized and shipped to local customers via pipeline. There are very few operating tasks associated with this system. No employees are permanently based at this site. Drivers visit the site to deliver. Praxair maintenance personnel visit the site periodically to perform routine maintenance tasks and make process observations. Hydrogen is regulated by the EPA Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations, with a threshold quantity of 10,000 pounds listed in regulations. The inventory of hydrogen in the Chesterton location's tanks exceeds the threshold quantity. The entire hydrogen process (both tanks and associated piping) is classified as a "Program 2" covered process by the RMP regulations. Hydrogen is the only covered process at this site. The site is not covered by OSHA PSM regulations because it is an unmanned facility. Praxair's RMP Program Praxair has a written Process Safety Management program for implementation at all facilities that operate a covered process. The PSM program addresses each of the fourteen elements of the standard, and explains Praxair's approach toward each one. In order to organize all of the information required to comply with RMP, Praxair establishes a filing system which contains or directs an employee to the information for each element. Since the Chesterton facility is an unmanned location, it's RMP file system is available for review at Praxair's Whiting, IN facility. The Whiting Facility Manager is responsible for the Chesterton site's RMP. |