Zenith Branch - Executive Summary

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Zenith Branch 
 
For further information contact: James M. Ray, General Manager 
 
1.  The Facility Policy 
     The owners, management, and employees of Zenith Coop Grain Co. are committed to the prevention of any accidental releases 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 
     - The primary activity at the facility is the storage and blending of fertilizers for sale to farmers. 
     - Anhydrous ammonia is received, stored, and distributed for direct application for crop production  
        nutrients. 
     - The maximum quantity stored would be 476,000 pounds in our two storage tanks (one-26,000 gallon  
       and one-30,000 gallon tank).  The maximum quantity handled would be the unloading of a tanker truck   
       holding 42,000 pounds. 
 
3.  The worst-cas 
e release scenario and the alternative release scenario 
     a. The worst-case release scenario would be the release of the total contents of a storage tank  
          released as gas over a 10-minute period.  The maximum quantity released would be 131,000  
          pounds, which represents the volume of the larger storage tank at 85 percent capacity as limited by  
          design standards.  The distance to the endpoint (point of dispersion to 200 ppm) is 2.41 miles. 
 
     b. The alternative release scenario (based on the most likely potential incident) is a release from a  
         break in a transfer hose.  The distance to the endpoint (point of dispersion to 200 ppm) is .83  
         miles.            
 
4.  The accidental release prevention program 
     The facility has implemented the provisions of "Safety Require 
ments 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 handling of anhydrous ammonia". 
 
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; nor 
     - to our knowledge, have resulted in offsite deaths, injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place, property  
       damage, or environmental damage. 
 
6.  The Emergency Response Program 
    The facility has: 
       a. a written emergency action plan, in accordance with OSHA standard, 29 CFR 1910.38 
       b. provided state and local authorities the emergency planning and community right-to-know  
           information as required under SARA Title III (EPCRA). 
       d. a written emergency 
response program, in accordance with OSHA standard, 29 CFR 1910.120,  
           including pre-emergency planning and employee training. 
 
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 time.
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