OLNEY WATER TREATMENT PLANT - Executive Summary |
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The Olney Water Treatment Plant produces approximately 2,000,000 gallons of water per day for Olney and the surrounding area. The Olney Water Treatment Plant staff is committed to safety. This includes the safe use of chemicals used to treat Olney's water. One of these chemicals, chlorine, is a regulated substance. Chlorine is used to disinfect the water prior to its introduction into the distribution system. At any given time 5000 pounds of chlorine may be stored at the water plant. Chlorine is a toxic chemical that would cause off site impacts if an uncontrolled release would occur. The worst case scenario includes the rupture of the chlorine container, releasing 2000 pounds of chlorine in 10 minutes. Using a computer model supplied by the E.P.A., the chlorine cloud formed by this release would be toxic to a point 2.2 miles from the water treatment plant. It is estimated that the population within this radius is approximately 8100. Safety measure including chlorine detectors, operator training, daily inspections and regular maintenance make the worst case release scenario unlikely. An alternative scenario includes the break in a chlorine line. The computer program indicates that this release would be toxic to a point 0.5 miles from the water treatment plant. It is estimated that the population within this radius is approximately 520. Safety measures including chlorine detectors, operator training, daily inspections, and the yearly replacement of all chlorine tubing make this scenario unlikely. The Olney Water Plant has had no releases of chlorine in the past five years. The emergency response to a release of chlorine would be to notify the Olney Fire and Police Departments and implement the Emergency Response Plan. |