Hiwassee Utilities Commission Water Treatment Plt. - Executive Summary |
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Hiwassee Utility owns a water treatment plant in Hiwassee, Tennessee. The plant is operated by Cleveland Utilities. The plant uses chlorine for disinfection, which is classified as an extremely hazardous substance. Two release scenarios (worst-case and alternate-case) were modeled using Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres, ALOHA(R), computer program. The worst-case scenario for chlorine (i.e., catastrophic failure due to corrosion, impact, or construction defects causing a direct release of 2,000 pounds of chlorine over a 10 minute period) resulted in an endpoint of 2.6 miles. The estimated number of persons residing in the 2.6-mile radius is 1,300. The alternate-case scenario (i.e., a gaseous release through a short pipe or valve) resulted in an endpoint of 0.4 mile. The estimated number of persons residing in the 0.4-mile radius is 70. Since the plant uses and stores chlorine in excess of 2,500 pounds, it is subject to federal requirements including preparation of PSM a nd RMP programs. Stringent RMP requirements (known as "Program 3 Level") apply to Cleveland Utilities because of Tennessee's OSHA jurisdiction. Cleveland Utilities has developed an emergency plan to provide employees with specific details for emergency operations. Additionally, in-house procedures are in place for training personnel on the chlorine system, mechanical inspection of equipment, incident investigation, compliance audits, and emergency response and action plan. There has not been an accident involving chlorine that caused deaths, injuries, property or environmental damage, or sheltering in place at this facility in the past 5 years. |