CF Industries, Inc. - Grand Forks Terminal - Executive Summary |
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Risk Management Program (RMP) Executive Summary CF Industries, Inc., Grand Forks Terminal About CF Industries, Inc. CF Industries is one of North America's largest interregional cooperatives, owned by and serving nine regional cooperatives. Through its Members, the Company's nitrogen, phosphate and potash fertilizer products reach over a million farmers and ranchers in 48 states and two Canadian provinces. CF Industries' fertilizer distribution system includes a network of 22 Company-owned anhydrous ammonia storage facilities. It is the policy of CF Industries to conduct its business and operate its facilities in a manner designed to protect the environment, and the health and safety of its employees. This protection extends to neighbors of the Terminal. Additionally, we are committed to complying with all applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations and the Company will promote environmental concern and education among our employees and with the communities in which we o perate. CF Industries is equally committed to protecting the safety and health of its employees, and will take all practical steps to eliminate or reduce the exposure of employees to conditions adversely affecting their safety or health while on the job, and encourages off-the-job employee safety and health awareness as well. The Company will not hesitate to go beyond legal requirements if, in its prudent judgment, a higher level of performance is in order. The commitment to excellence regarding Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) issues is supported in total by Senior Management of CF Industries. Stationary Source and Regulated Substance One of the Company's distribution facilities is the Grand Forks Terminal, located approximately 1 mile north of Grand Forks. CF Industries has been a member of the community since 1975. Anhydrous ammonia is the only RMP-regulated substance at the Grand Forks Terminal. The Grand Forks Terminal receives ammonia by rail and distributes it into ta nk trucks. The Terminal stores anhydrous ammonia in two refrigerated above-ground tanks in addition to two pressurized storage tanks known as bullets. An extensive EHS program assures compliance with applicable local, state and federal rules and regulations. CF Industries' anhydrous ammonia is used primarily as a fertilizer. Ammonia is a source of nitrogen that is essential for plant growth. It is classified by the Department of Transportation as a non-flammable, compressed gas. Accidental Release Prevention and Emergency Response Policies CF Industries' Layers of Protection CF Industries has implemented a comprehensive program at its distribution facilities designed to safeguard the environment, its workers and the surrounding communities. The layers of protection are the numerous prevention mechanisms implemented at the Company's fertilizer storage facilities to help manage the risks inherent in handling anhydrous ammonia. The key safety features are listed below. 7 The faci lity conducts comprehensive reviews to insure that hazards associated with CF Industries' processes are identified and controlled efficiently. These reviews are conducted in accordance with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard. One of these reviews is a Process Hazards Analysis (PHA) which is designed to identify all failure scenarios that could lead to a significant exposure of ammonia to workers, the public, or the environment. The review is undertaken by a team of qualified personnel with expertise in engineering and process operations and is revalidated every five years. Any findings related to the PHA are addressed in a timely manner. All PHA's conducted after June 21, 1999 will consider offsite impact. 7 Critical operating conditions at the Grand Forks Terminal are monitored through two independent sets of instrumentation. Pressure and level gauges alert Terminal personnel with alarms and automatic shutdowns. 7 A flare, activated automatically, helps control tank pressure by burning ammonia vapor before it can be released to the atmosphere. This is performed when the ammonia compressors are unable to maintain the tank pressure. 7 The ammonia tank system is protected by pressure/vacuum relief valves and compressors which operate automatically. 7 Emergency shutdown buttons are located throughout the facility. These buttons can be used by anyone to shutdown the product flows in the event of an emergency. 7 CF Industries has instituted a comprehensive tank inspection program that requires every tank be inspected at fifteen year intervals. Tanks are emptied and subjected to a series of tests. This program is designed to identify and correct any tank problems. A tank outage typically lasts three months and costs the Company $300,000. Although an inspection is costly in terms of money and distribution logistics, CF Industries believes the safety benefits far outweigh the costs. 7 Through CF Industries' PSM program, all covered equipment used at the facility undergoes routine performance tests and maintenance. This PSM program forms the foundation for the RMP prevention program. 7 The Grand Forks Terminal is staffed around-the-clock. Thus, operating temperatures and pressures, and other parameters, are monitored 24 hours a day. Such monitoring allows Terminal personnel to quickly respond to operational problems in their early stage; thereby preventing releases of ammonia to the environment. 7 Every truck which enters or leaves the facility with anhydrous ammonia is inspected by facility personnel. Each truck is checked for leaks, and surveillance cameras provide operating personnel additional views of truck loading conditions. Any truck that fails the inspection is not permitted to remove anhydrous ammonia from the facility. 7 Another essential element of our Layers of Protection is employee training and continuing education. Every operating person receives ex tensive Hazardous Materials Safety training with eight hours of refresher training each year. They also receive documented training covering 49 specific topics. 7 The Grand Forks facility maintains industrial hygiene and medical programs that meet or exceed standards of good professional practice. 7 CF Industries also works extensively with the local emergency and fire responders through simulation training and drills. The Company believes it is important that first responders are prepared to deal with any emergency on site. 7 CF Industries routinely carries out highly documented maintenance checks on its process equipment to ensure proper functions. Process equipment examined by these checks includes pressure vessels, storage tanks, piping systems, relief and vent systems, emergency shutdown systems, controls and pumps. 7 CF Industries maintains and enforces formal procedures and policies on environmental protection, safety awareness, facility design and operation, and contrac tor compliance that, in many cases, go beyond legal and regulatory requirements. The Company's internal EHS audit program is designed to make the Grand Forks Terminal the best in the industry. In addition, the Terminal maintains written operating procedures which describe what tasks a process operator must perform, define safe operating parameters that must be maintained, and set safety precautions for operations and maintenance activities. Each facility is assessed for compliance with federal, state and local regulations every year. Emergency Response Program CF Industries has developed Emergency Manuals for all of its distribution facilities, including the Grand Forks Terminal. Copies of the Grand Forks Emergency Manual are kept at the facility and the Company's corporate headquarters. Copies are sent to the Local Emergency Planning Committee, the State Emergency Response Commission, and the Manvel Volunteer Fire Department. The Manual includes all aspects of emergency respons e including personnel roles and responsibilities, lines of authority, communication, pre-emergency planning, emergency recognition and prevention, emergency alerting and response procedures, site evacuation routes, site security, decontamination, emergency response equipment, medical treatment and first aid services, and post-emergency activities and training. The Manual is reviewed annually with the first responders. In addition, CF Industries trains its employees annually on the use of this Manual. Worst Case Scenario The worst case release scenario for the Grand Forks Terminal was calculated using the methodology included in the EPA's RMP Off-Site Consequence Guidance. This methodology was applied to a refrigerated storage tank and a pressurized storage tank. Applying the RMP's mandated assumptions, a pressurized storage tank resulted in the largest downwind impact. Thus, the worst case release scenario, which is highly unlikely, involves a complete release of the volume of a pressurized storage tank to the atmosphere in 10 minutes. Under the worst case weather conditions of low wind speed and minimal atmospheric dispersion, off-site impacts will occur. The EPA's RMP*Comp program, Version 1.06, was used to determine the maximum downwind distance the ammonia release could impact the general public and/or the environment. This assessment incorporated a toxic endpoint (ammonia concentration) of 0.14 mg/L. This toxic endpoint refers to the maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed nearly all individuals could be exposed for up to one hour without experiencing or developing irreversible or other serious health effects or symptoms that could impair an individual's ability to take protective action. Alternative Release Scenario In addition to the worst case scenario, the RMP rule also requires the submittal of an alternative release scenario, or more realistic release scenario. For the Grand Forks Terminal, the alternative release scenario in volves a release of ammonia vapor from a pressure relief valve on the top of a refrigerated ammonia storage tank. The scenario further assumes that the pressure relief valve properly re-seats, as has been shown in practice. Thus, the release is assumed to occur for one minute. No active mitigation measures were considered in evaluating a release under this scenario. The above-described release was chosen because it represents the most common type of release, as determined from an evaluation of all recent releases from CF Industries Terminals. CF Industries believes this release represents the most probable type of release which could occur at the Grand Forks Terminal, which has off-site impacts to the general public and/or the environment. Under average weather conditions of low/moderate wind speed and neutral atmospheric dispersion, the release will cause off-site impacts. The EPA's RMP*Comp program, Version 1.06, was used to perform the off-site consequence analysis. The ammo nia toxic endpoint of 0.14 mg/L was used in the assessment. The Five-Year Accident History There has never been a catastrophic failure of a refrigerated storage tank at any of the 22 CF Industries-owned ammonia storage and distribution facilities. Additionally, CF Industries' Grand Forks Terminal has had no releases in the last five years that resulted in any deaths, injuries, or significant property damage on-site, or known off-site deaths, injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place, property damage, or environmental damage. Planned Changes to Improve Safety CF Industries will continue to coordinate information and training with emergency responders. This information-sharing will occur during face-to-face discussions and emergency response drills. CF Industries will continue its long standing policy to host Community Interface Meetings for the first responders, government officials, businesses and neighbors. During these meetings, the attendees receive a tour of the facility an d receive information about CF Industries and its accident prevention programs. Following the presentation, the facilities' employees are available to answer questions. In addition, as part of the Company's Community Giving Program, CF Industries provides financial assistance to enhance public safety in the community. CF Industries has donated funds that have been used for flood relief and the purchase of rescue equipment and an ambulance. Also, the Company has supported the local Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. |