Chicago Specialties 115th Street - Executive Summary

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Facility Information 
 
The Chicago Specialties plant has approximately 130 employees.  The facility produces organic dyes and pigments and intermediate cyclic organics.  Chicago Specialties uses three regulated chemicals in processes above threshold quantities.  The facility uses sulfur trioxide as a feed material in the manufacture of paracresol, and sulfur dioxide as a diluent in the paracresol process.  The facility stores up to 215,000 pounds of sulfur trioxide in an indoor storage vessel, and up to 50,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide in an outdoor storage vessel.  The facility also uses anhydrous ammonia as a feed material in the production of isopthalonitrile.  The regulated anhydrous ammonia process is a storage vessel, which can store up to 175,000 pounds of the material. 
 
Risk Management Planning 
 
In addition to our existing information sharing practices, Community Right-to-Know, emissions inventories, and Title V Permit, Chicago Specialties shares information regarding the chemica 
ls used and their associated risk with the public.  The facility uses both passive and active mitigation to minimize the likelihood of releases and their impact to the public and to the environment.  These mitigation systems emergency shutdown equipment and revised operating procedures and equipment for the covered sulfur dioxide process.  The sulfur trioxide process uses dikes, sumps, emergency shutdown equipment, and a CO2 cryogenic mitigation system, which entails freezing the material if released. 
 
Accident History and Safety Improvements 
 
The table below lists Chicago Specialties' five-year accident history of all accidental releases from covered processes, which resulted in off-site evacuations, shelter-in-place, property or environmental damage, injuries, or significant property damage on-site.  The incident in 1997 occurred on August 4.  During the incident a transfer hose failure released 8,500 pounds of sulfur trioxide in to the environment, of which 7,000 pounds were release 
d to the atmosphere.  A portion of the local vicinity was evacuated.  There were no deaths or off-site property damage associated with this accident. 
 
The facility conducted an extensive safety review after the incident.  Chicago Specialties has determined that the most likely cause of the accident was water the unloading connections of the tanker truck, which was loading sulfur trioxide into the facility's storage tank.  The facility has subsequently installed several safety measures to reduce the likelihood of a reoccurrence of this type of incident: improved and upgraded equipment involved in the process, revised training, maintenance, emergency response plans, and operating procedures.  The facility also installed new mitigation systems, which significantly reduced the risk of such an occurrence happening again. 
 
Chicago Specialties' 5-year Accident History 
 
The five year accident history was prepared in accordance with 68.42.  The accidents reported in the RMP data elements only i 
nclude accidents related to a regulated chemical (SO2, SO3 or Anhydrous Ammonia) that resulted in deaths, injuries or significant property damage on-site or known offsite deaths, injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place, property damage, or environmental damage.  There were four releases of regulated chemicals in the past five years.  Only the August 04, 1997 release meets the requirements of 68.42 for a release which must be reported. 
 
 
Year    1994    1995    1996    1997    1998 
Number    0    0    0    1    0 
 
Prevention Program 
 
Chicago Specialties believes the best way to manage risk is to prevent accidents.  Chicago Specialties has performed a HAZOP analysis to identify and reduce the risk posed by the RMP covered processes.  The prevention program will continue to reduce the risk through improved safety.  Chicago Specialties' process safety management program includes but is not limited to; process safety information, operating procedures, training, pre-startup safety review, mechanical integrity, and man 
agement of change.  In addition, the facility has incorporated process controls including, relief and check valves, manual and automatic shutoffs, interlocks, alarms, backup pumps, grounding equipment, rupture disks, sprinkler systems, fire walls and blast walls where appropriate. 
 
Emergency Response Policy 
 
Chicago Specialties has coordinated with the Local Emergency Preparedness Committee (LEPC) and Fire Chief Frank Moriarty.  Chicago Specialties has prepared an extensive written emergency response plan.  Specifically, the emergency response plan works to minimize the amount of material released to the environment and to establish control and mitigation of any releases in an expedited manner while communicating the nature of the incident to the public and local agencies. 
 
 
Worst-Case Release Scenario and Alternative Release Scenarios 
 
The RMP rule requires development of scenarios or examples for an accidental release of each RMP regulated chemical.  The scenarios developed for Chic 
ago Specialties are outlined in the table below. 
 
 
       About the    Example Event    Accident Prevention    Scenario        Radius of    Emergency Response 
Chemical    Chemical                In-Place                    Concern1    Measures 
 
Sulfur        Colorless    Worst Case Toxic    Standard        Instantaneous failure     5.7 miles    Communication with 
Trioxide    liquid, forms    Release Example    Operating        of tank walls                public agencies; 
       crystals at                Procedures        Worst possible weather        Coordinate with 
       90 degrees F                Tank            conditions (low wind, low        LEPC; Emergency 
                           Inspections        humidity)                Response Plan; 
                                       Total release of entire            Personal Protective 
                                       contents of tank (215,000)        Equipment; 
                                       lbs) inside the building        Response Equipment 
 
Sulfur        Sulfur        Alternative Case    Relief Valves        Rupture disk over-    0.68 miles    See above 
Dioxide    Dioxide is a    Toxic Release        Rupture Disk        pressurization 
       colorless gas    Example        Manual Shutoffs    Average weather 
       or liquid, with                Automatic        conditions 
       a strong                Shutoffs        Duratio 
n of vent release -4     
       pungent odor.                Interlocks        minutes 
 
Sulfur        Colorless    Alternative Case    Relief Valves        Transfer hose rupture    0.75 miles    See above 
Trioxide    liquid, forms    Toxic Release        Rupture Disk        Average weather 
       crystals at    Example        Manual Shutoffs    conditions 
       90 degrees F                Automatic        Release of 8,500 lbs. 
                           Shutoffs 
                           Interlocks 
 
Anhydrous    Colorless    Alternative Case    Relief Valves        2,100 lb/min release per    0.30 miles    See above 
Ammonia    Caustic Gas    Toxic Release        Rupture Disk        EPA RMP Ammonia 
       with pungent    Example        Manual Shutoffs    Guidance Document 
       odor                    Automatic 
                           Shutoffs 
                           Interlocks 
1.    These distances are based upon an EPA-designated endpoint.
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