Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments, Inc. - Executive Summary |
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Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments Inc. (Ciba) is committed to the safety of its employees and neighbors, to protecting the environment, and to building positive relationships in the community. At each of it facilities, Ciba employees work closely with the local community, emergency responders, and local emergency planning commissions to ensure the safety and health of our neighbors. Ciba believes that the more the community understands our business and the way we manage our facilities, the more they will be reassured that we are responsible members of the community. Ciba takes very seriously the safe and proper handling of the products and raw materials used, and the safe operation of its facilities. We support the communitys right-to-know, and programs that provide meaningful information to the public about environment, health and safety issues. Leadership by senior management through policy, participation, communications and resource commitments in achieving continuou s improvements in environment, health and safety performance is a major corporate goal. Ciba is also committed to the CMA Responsible Care Program, and it is the foundation of the companys environmental health and safety program. At the Ciba Old Bridge site, the commitment to a safe work place has resulted in no lost work-days in almost two years. The Risk Management Plan we have developed reflects our commitment to the safety of our employees and the community, and we are continually improving the program by on-going process safety reviews and improvements that go beyond the requirements of RMP. A $1 million dollar state-of-the-art fire protection system including a new underground ring main, pump house, and foam systems has recently been installed, as well as a back-up generator for our methyl chloride reactor system. Currently a new waste fuel tank farm & storage facilities are being designed to replace existing systems. The Ciba Old Bridge facility is located on Old Wate rworks Road, near the Old Bridge/Sayreville border between Bordentown Avenue and Route 9. The facility manufacturers specialty organic chemicals used to produce water treatment chemicals. The RMP regulated chemicals used at the site are methyl chloride and allyl alcohol. The maximum quantity of methyl chloride at any one time at the facility in 210,000 pounds. The maximum quantity of allyl alcohol at the facility is 70,000 pounds. The worst case scenario for methyl chloride is a 10 minute release of the contents of a rail car, 175,000 pounds, which results in a Toxic Endpoint of 3.3 miles using the EPA look-up tables. The worst case scenario for allyl alcohol is the release of 70,000 pounds of allyl alcohol from an 11,000 gallon storage tank into a diked area, and the evaporation of the pool of allyl alcohol, resulting in a Toxic Endpoint of 1.3 miles using the EPA look-up tables. The effective diked area containing the allyl alcohol Storage Tank is 2400 ft reducing the release rate to 15 lbs/minute. The alternate scenarios selected for both allyl alcohol and methyl chloride were developed based on Process Hazard Analyses. The alternative scenario selected for allyl alcohol was the failure of a transfer hose during the unloading of a tanker of allyl alcohol to the allyl alcohol storage tank. This release was assumed conservatively to last 15 minutes until the operator making the transfer shuts the pump off to stop the flow. The Toxic Endpoint for the release was determined to be 0.3 miles using the EPA look-up tables for alternate scenarios and using the diked area for determining the evaporation rate. For methyl chloride the alternative scenario selected was also the failure of a hose during the transfer of methyl chloride from the rail car to the methyl chloride storage tank. This release is assumed to last 15 minutes, using our remote compressor shut-off to stop the flow. The release was calculated to result in a Toxic Endpoint of 0.2 miles using the "Analysis of Consequences of Toxic Releases." software provided by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The five year RMP chemicals accident history for the site reflects one release of methyl chloride in 1995. This release occurred prior to Ciba's ownership of the site. The estimated amount of less than 300 pounds released is a worst case engineering estimate based on available process and operating records from that time. There were no injuries on-site, but six railroad employees working near the site were briefly hospitalized. The Ciba Old Bridge plant accidental release prevention program includes both quarterly emission monitoring of all flanges, valves, pumps, etc., with immediate repair of any leaks, as well as ultrasonic thickness testing of all vessels and transfer lines utilized for regulated chemicals. Procedurally, transfers of RMP regulated chemicals to storage vessels are only made during daylight hours to maximize detection of any problem as well as our ability to effectively respond. A computerized program is in effect which insures that preventive maintenance on all critical equipment is performed on a pre-determined schedule based on good manufacturing practices. A back-up generator has been installed as part of the methyl chloride reaction system to insure power availability so that batches in progress may be safely completed in the event of a power failure. The Ciba Old Bridge plant is an active member of the Old Bridge Local Emergency Planning Committee and has reviewed its Risk Management Program with LEPC officials. Means of alerting the surrounding community in the unlikely event of a release is being finalized with the LEPC utilizing the Old Bridge warning sirens located through-out the township, or route alerting using official vehicles. In addition, the plant holds drills in conjunction with the Cheesequake Fire Department, and local fire officials are familiar with the lay-out and emergency response equipment available at the site. |