FARMINGTON FRESH - Executive Summary |
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FARMINGTON PACKING Risk Management Program STOCKTON FACILITY Prepared by Patrick C. McCaig Plant Supervisor 7735 S. State Route 99, West Frontage Road Stockton, CA 95215 (209) 983-9700 June 1999 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE PAGE I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF OPERATIONS l ll. PROCESS, OPERATIONS, AND PROCEDURES ll A. Ammonia Cold Storage System Operational Procedure 1. Standard Operational Procedures 2. Emergency System Shut-down Procedures B. Daily Maintenance and Inspection lll. TESTING AND MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE lll A. Daily Maintenance and Inspections lV. DESIGN OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE SAFETY SYSTEMS lV A. Ammonia Cold Storage System 1. Passive Design features that minimize risk of AHM release 2. Active Design features that minimize risk of AHM release 3. Maintenance Controls that minimize risk of AHM release V. DETECTION, MONITORING, AND AUTOMATIC SAFETY SYSTEMS V A. Ammonia Cold Storage System Safety Controls 1. Automated Monitoring 2. Manual Monitoring Vl. ACUTELY HAZARDOUS MATERIAL ACCIDENT HISTORY Vl A. Description of Accident B. Accident Prevention Measures Vll. SUMMARY OF HAZARD AND OPERABILITY STUDY Vll A. HazOp Methodology B. Off-site Consequence Analyses 1. Ammonia Cold Storage System Vlll. ADMINISTRATION OF THE RMP Vlll A. Personnel Responsible for Implementing the RMP B. Employee Training C. Auditing and Inspection Programs D. Recordkeeping Procedures for the RMP lX. CERTIFICATION Section l INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF OPERATIONS Farmington Packing operates a produce packing facility and cold storage on South State Route 99, West Frontage Road, in Stockton, California. Anhydrous ammonia is used as a refrigerant in the refrigeration system in the cold storage facility. This RMP is concerned with the cold storage facility. The cold storage system is a flood-type system and consists of a mechanical room with four compressors, high pressure receiver, evaporative condenser and product cooling coils. The cold storage room system will contain approximately 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. The threshold planning quantity for anhydrous ammonia is 500 pounds. This system will be operated by trained plant personnel and maintained regularly by licensed and trained contractors. Section ll PROCESS, OPERATIONS, AND PROCEDURES 1. Standard Operational Procedures Standard operational procedures for all aspects of operation of the ammonia cold storage are maintained and updated by the licensed refrigeration contractors. These standard operational procedure include procedure for standard start-up, shutdown, refrigerant recharging, maintenance and leak detection. These procedures are continuously updated to remain in accordance with all applicable regulations, ordinances, and standards of safe operation. These procedures are provided to the facility operator, and are to be performed only by qualified, trained personnel with the approval of the licen sed refrigeration contractor. 2. Emergency System Shutdown Designated plant personnel are instructed how to perform a total system shutdown in the event of in emergency. Supervisory personnel are trained by the licensed refrigeration contractor: a.) How to identify a system emergency and its severity b.) When and emergency situation requires notification of emergency response personnel c.) How and when to safely shut down the cold storage system or sub-system in the event of such an emergency, and d.) How and when to contact the licensed refrigeration contractor in the event of any problem with or concern about the safe operation of the cold storage system. System emergency shutdown controls are clearly labeled, their locations noted for supervisory plant personnel. Additionally, all personnel are instructed how to report suspected system problems to supervisors, who will then follow the above mentioned em ergency procedures. Section lll MAINTENANCE AND TESTING SCHEDULES 1. Daily Maintenance and Inspections Daily maintenance and inspection is conducted by both plant personnel and licensed and trained contractors while the systems are in operation to insure they are operating in a manner consistent with design parameters and standards of safety. Logs of these operations are maintained by the licensed refrigeration contractors. These are forwarded to the facility operators as a matter of record and kept on file at the facility. These maintenance and inspection recorders are continuously revised by the contractors in the event of equipment design modification and/or changes in standards of safe operations. The ammonia cold storage system components installed in accordance with all applicable existing laws, ordinances, regulations, standards, and good engineering practices to the best knowledge of the facility management. A . Ammonia Cold Storage System 1. Passive Design Features that Minimize Risk of AHM Release a.) Pressure Relief Valves: As described in Section lll, Testing and Maintenance Schedule, Pressure relief valves are located on the receiver, compressor, and suction accumulators throughout the system. Additionally, all pressure relief valves are vented to a water diffusion system to prevent atmospheric release of anhydrous ammonia. b.) Mechanical Room Location: The mechanical room of the ammonia cold storage system is located at the back of the facility. The room is enclosed and can only be accessed by the locked service doors. These enclosures limites accessibilty to personnel and minimizes the possibility of impact or damage by careless equipment operation. c.) Cooling Coils and Evaporator Piping Location: The piping and all of the cooling coils are located above the bin storage room and packed box storage room, out of reach of all normal operational machinery minimizing the possibility of damage by careless equipment operation. d.) Ammonia Piping and Receiver Insulation: The system piping and receiver vessels are insulated to increase system efficiency and reduce the risk of system overpressure due to excessive heat gain. Additionally, piping is located on the roof of the facility to minimize the posibilty of damage by routine equipment operation and to provide greater accessibility for maintenance and inspection. e.) Pressure Equalized Dump Trap: The system design incorporates a pressure equalized liq uid ammonia dump trap that drains liquid ammonia from the main suction Accumulator, equalizes pressure with the high pressure receiver, then drains liquid ammonia by gravity back into the high pressure receiver. This sub-system minimizes the possibilty of liquid ammonia reaching the compressor which may cause excessive wear and/or damage and subsequent release. 2. Active Design Features that Minimizes Risk of AHM Release a.) Compressor High Discharge Pressure Cut-Off Switch: Each compressor is equipped with a high discharge pressure switch which shuts down the compressor. High discharge pressure could be caused by a condenser malfunction, non-condensable gases entrained in the system, or a closed valve in the compressor discharge line. If a high compressor discharge shut down is initiated, the system will remain down until the problem that generated the shut down is initiated, the system will remain down until the problem that generated the shut down is corrected and the switch is manually reset. b.) Liquid Level Controls in Accumulators: Solenoids valves controlled by float switches maintain the liquid level in the accumulators. When the liquid ammonia level in the accumulator is low, a liquid float switch opens the solenoid valves to establish ammonia flow into the accumulator. When the ammonia level in the accumulator reaches operating capacity, the liquid level float switch de-energizes the solenoid valve which stops the ammonia flow. c.) Compressor Controls: In addition to the system control stated previously, the co mpressor is equipped with the following controls functions: 1.) Low suction pressure cut-off switch 2.) High discharge pressure cut-off switch 3.) Lubricating oil low pressure cut-off switch d.) Electonic System Controls: The entire system is computer monitored and controlled. In the event that any operational parameter is exceeded, the control system identifies the severity of the fault, shuts down the relevant system component and notifies maintenance personnel on a 24 hour basis. In the event of failure of the electronic control system, the system will shut down. The entire system can be controlled and diagnosed via telephone and personal computer. 3.) Maintenance Control that Minimizes Risk AHM Release In addition t o the standard operating procedures noted in Section ll, Process, Operations, and Procedures, a system maintenance and inspection check is completed daily while the system is in operation during the facilty's normal operating season. This maintenance and inspection is described in Section lll, Testing and Maintenance Schedules. Section lV DETECTION, MONITORING, AND AUTOMATIC SAFETY SYSTEMS Ammonia Cold Storage System Safety Controls 1. Automated Monitoring of the Ammonia Cold Storage System System pressure is maintained within operating parameters by an electronic control system which monitors the high compressor discharge pressure cut-off switch, low compressor suction pressure cut-off switch, low compressor lubricating oil pressure cut-off switch, and liquid level controls in the suction acccumulators. In the event that operating parameters are exceeded as measur ed by these control devices, maintenance personnel are notified and the system or its components are automatically shut-down. 2. Manual Monitoring and Inspection of the Ammonia Cold Storage System As described in Design, Operation, and Maintenance Safety Systems, the refrigeration system is physically monitored and inspection checks are kept on file by the refrigeration service contractor and forwarded to the facility operators. During this physical inspection, any possible leaks are detected using sulfur sticks and dragger tubes. Additionally, pH of the diffusion tank water is routinely checked to detect possible non-atmospheric release through the pressure relief valves. Section V ACUTELY HAZARDOUS MATERIAL ACCIDENT HISTORY There have been no accidental release or accidents involving anhydrous ammonia at Farmington Packing since the start-up of operations in July of 1995. Section Vl SUMMARY AND SCHEDULE O F RISK REDUCTION An assessment of likely failure modes of the anhydrous ammonia refrigeration system was complied during the Hazard and Operability Study using the "What-if/Checklist" approach. SectionVll ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION This section of the RMP contains information relevant to the administration and implementation of the RMP. 1. Plant Operations Personnel Training a.) All operations personnel are specifically trained for their responsibility within the facility. In addition to equipment training, operations personnel receive training in accident prevention and occupational safety. b.) Plant operations personnel complete a detailed training program for each of their work assignments that include elements from the following: 1.) Overview of the process and the equipment 2.) Safety, including the contents of the "Hazardous Materials Communication Program" and the site specific personne l protective equipment use the maintenance. 3.) Equipment operations: a.) Normal operating conditions b.) Emergency shutdown 2. Maintenance Personnel a. Maintenance personnel are required to read the available maintenance manuals from the manufacturer before performing any work on each major piece of equipment in the facility. Maintenance personnel receive accident prevention and occupational safety training as described above as well. b. Plant Maintenance personnel serving non-AHM handling equipment are required to follow the manufacturer's quidlines for serving the equipment and adhere to the licensed contractor's safety guidlines for working near equipment that handles acutely hazardous materials. Further, all plant maintenance personnel serving equipment near AHM-handling equipment are required to contact the licensed contractor before beginning repairs or maintenance. No plant personnel are authorized to repair or maintain AHM-handling equipment. AHM-handling equipment repairs and maintenance are the responsibility of personnel qualified and trained by the licensed contractors. 3. Auditing and Inspection Programs 1. The Plant Supervisor and Maintenance Supervisor with the Licensed Contractors will conduct a Hazard and Operability Study for the facility annually and augment the risk reduction schedule if necessary. 2. The Plant Supervisor and Maintenance Supervisor will also conduct a review of the Risk Reduction Implementation Schedule to evaluate implementation status of the RMP. Results of these annual reviews will be kept on file with other RMP records on-site. 4. Recordkeeping Procedures for the RMP 1. All recordkeeping for the RMP is the responsibility of the Plant Supervisor. This person will maintain records of all revi sions to the RMP and insure that copies of all revisions are distributed to all personnel responsible for implementating the RMP. 2. All records relating to the RMP will be maintained for at least five years. These records include the following: 1.) Hazardous Material Inventories 2.) Operation, Maintenance, and Inspection records 3.) Employee Training records Section Vlll Certification By Qualified Person and Facility Operator I certify that I am qualified to attest to the validity of the Hazard and Operability studies performed for the RMP. Additionally, I certify that the technical documents and information are a true reflection of the current status fo the AHM-handling equipment at Farmington Packing. ________________________ _________________________ Patrick C. McCaig Date Plant Supervisor _________________________ _________________________ Consulting Licensed Contractor Date I certify that I am qualified to attest to the validity of the Hazard and Operability studies performed for this RMP. Additionally, I certify that the technical documents and information are a true reflection of the current status of the AHM-handling equipment at Farmington Packing. __________________________ __________________________ Jim Carter Date Facility Manager |