City of Gastonia Water Treatment Plant - Executive Summary |
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The City of Gastonia has developed a Risk Management Plan and Process Safety Management (RMP/PSM) Program for control of potentially catastrophic releases of extremely hazardous substances at its City of Gastonia Water Treatment Plant (City of Gastonia WTP) in Gastonia, North Carolina. This program continues the City of Gastonia's commitment to the protection of its employees and the surrounding community and the control of the potential for such a release. The City of Gastonia WTP currently uses chlorine (delivered in one ton cylinders) as a disinfection agent to comply with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act. As part of the RMP/PSM program, the City of Gastonia has developed the following accidental release prevention and emergency response procedures and policies regarding the use of chlorine: 1) Protection of its employees and citizens is the City of Gastonia's highest priority. 2) Preventing the release of extremely hazardous substances is a key element of that protection. 3) Commitment by management to taking every appropriate step toward the prevention of such releases including: a) Making all important information readily available. b) Providing training to all employees on a routine basis. c) Defining roles and responsibilities in a clear manner. 4) Fulfillment of his or her roll in prevention of such releases is a condition of employment for all facility employees. In order to reduce the likelihood of a potential release, the City of Gastonia has incorporated the following general accidental release prevention program and chlorine-specific prevention steps: 1) Facility maintenance staff and/or outside contractors proficient in chlorine system maintenance shall conduct routine preventive maintenance of key process components in facility chlorine systems. 2) City employees and/or any contractor employees on site shall conduct all work in accordance with any applicable Lockout/Tagout procedures . 3) City employees and/or any contractor employees on site shall conduct all work in accordance with Hot Work Permit requirements. 4) The City shall maintain a routine Inspection and Compliance Audit schedule. 5) The City shall enforce established procedures for handling work performed by outside Contractors, on or around processes utilizing hazardous substances, to minimize the potential for chemical releases. 6) The City shall provide frequent employee training on the operation and maintenance of all facilities utilizing chlorine. 7) The City has developed and shall adhere to detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all chlorine system operations and maintenance. 8) City facilities utilizing chlorine shall require that all pipelines that contain chlorine or chlorine solution bear a yellow "Chlorine" or "Chlorine Solution" label. 9) All work on or around chlorine system equipment must follow the facility SOPs and proceed only after notification of the maintenence supervisor, senior plant supervisor, senior plant operator, and the lead plant operator on duty. 10) Only persons trained in chlorine safety shall be present during any work that could potentially trigger a release. The City of Gastonia's Emergency Response Program utilizes an external emergency response team and focuses on keeping employees away from dangerous areas, while the mechanical equipment and emergency services personnel control the chemical release. When an emloyee observes a release he/she shall secure the area if possible, immediately notify the inside operator, then ensure that emergency response teams have been notified via the "911" ememrgency system, and leave the area. |