Gaston Branch - Executive Summary |
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Risk Management Plan - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY for Gaston Branch 1. The Facility Policy The owners, management, and employees of AgBest Cooperative, Inc. are committed to the prevention of any accidental release of anhydrous ammonia. If an accidental release should occur, the facility is prepared to work with the local fire department, or other authorities, to mitigate any release and minimize the impact of the release to people and the environment. 2. Facility Information This facility is a retail farm supply center. We handle a variety of farm supplies, including pesticides and fertilizers. We are distributors of Anhydrous Ammonia, a product regulated by U.S. E.P.A. We receive Anhydrous Ammonia by truck, store on site in one 30,000 gallon tank and one 18,000 gallon tank and distribute to our customers in nurse tanks. 3. The worst-case release scenario and the alternative release scenario a. The worst-case release scenario would be the release of the total contents of a storage tan k released as a gas over 10 minutes. The maximum quantity released would be 130,050 pounds, which represents the volume of the largest storage tank at 85 percent capacity as limited by design standards. The distance to the endpoint (point of dispersion to 200 ppm) is 0.56 miles. b. The alternative release scenario based on the five-year accident history (or the most likely potential incident) is a release from a break in a transfer hose. This would result in a release of 12000 pounds over a 2 minute time span until manual shut off could be completed. The distance to the endpoint (point of dispersion to 200 ppm) is _____________ miles. 4. The accident 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 Standards Institute, Inc., and the standards of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 29 CFR 1910.111, "Storage and handlin g of anhydrous ammonia". Additional information contained in our Safety and Environmental Manual. 5. The Five-year Accident History There have been no accidental releases of anhydrous ammonia in the past five years that have caused any deaths, injuries, or significant property damage at the facility or to our knowledge, have resulted in offsite injuries, property damage, or environmental damage. 6. The emergency response program This facility has a written emergency response plan, in accordance with OSHA standards 29 CFR 1910.38, and 29 CFR 1910.120. We have also provided state and local authorities the emergency planning and community right-to-know information as required under SARA Title III (EPCRA). 7. Planned changes to improve safety Safety improvement is an on-going process at the facility. Periodic evaluations are performed to assess the maintenance of safe conditions. There are no additional specific anhydrous ammonia safety recommendations for implementation at this tim e. |