Serenade Foods - Executive Summary |
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE SERENADE FOODS LOCATED IN MILFORD INDIANA Accidental Release Prevention and Emergency Response plans for the plant Maple Leaf Farms, Inc. has begun development of a Crisis Management Team to prepare for any emergency which may occur at any of the Maple Leaf Farms facilities. Maple Leaf Farms Inc. is committed to protect their employees and the people of the surrounding community At the present time we have just completed a process hazard analysis and are making the required changes to the ammonia refrigeration system to meet PSM requirements for Ammonia Refrigeration Systems. All the modifications should be complete by October of this year. We also have a Mechanical integrity inspections scheduled for September 1999. All code violations found on this inspection will be corrected as soon as the engineering firm we have contracted with can complete them. The Maple Leaf Farms, Inc. Executive Board is committed to making Serenade Foods the safest and be st processing plant in Indiana and have given the plant manager the authority to purchase the equipment and training required to maintain a Serenade Foods / Maple Leaf Farms Emergency Response Team. Facility and regulated substance handled Serenade Foods is located at 9179 N 200 E. which places the distribution center 600 ft from the intersection of 900 N. & 200 E. The facility consists of a food processing plant for the further processing of duck and chicken products and a distribution center where the products are stored and then freighted to our customers. The only regulated chemical used by Maple Leaf Farms is anhydrous ammonia used in the refrigeration system. There is 19,440 lbs of ammonia within the system. Worst Case Scenario At the Serenade Foods in Milford Indiana the worst case scenario would be the rupture of the evaporative condensor. This would cause the release of the contents of the receiver, condenser and the connected liquid drain piping. The EPA RMP Comp was used to calculate the range to toxic endpoint. It was determined that the distance to toxic endpoint is 1.1 miles and would effect approximately 100 people. Alternative Worst Case Scenario The alternative worst case scenario for Serenade Foods in Milford Indiana consists of a leak rupture of the piping connecting the Low Temp Recirculator with the Frigo Blast Freezer. In this scenario we have based the leak on the release of 2270 pounds over a 10 minute time period. This time could be increased depending on the reaction time of the operator. There is no automatic detection/ shut-off for this area . The pumps will continue to pump liquid out until the receiver runs dry (12,000 #) or the operator shuts down the pumps. The toxic endpoint would be 0.6 miles and would effect approximately 50 people. The General Accidental Release Prevention Program and Chemical Specific Prevention Steps Serenade Foods has in place a Process Safety Management Program. AS a result of the PSM Program t he following procedures and policies have been put into place: Employee Participation Guidelines Employee Training Contractor Qualification Guidelines Pre-Startup Procedures Mechanical Integrity Inspection Policy Support Personnel Entry Program Hot Work Permit Program Management of Change Program Incident Investigation Program Emergency Planning and Response Plan Compliance Audit Procedure - done by outside contractor. Dissemination/ Trade Secrets Policy Policy for Opening the Refrigeration System Process Hazard Analysis Mechanical Integrity inspections are done annually to ensure the equipment is operating properly. ANY problems are addressed and repaired as needed. Five Year Accident History Serenade Foods has not had a release in excess of 100 lbs of ammonia in the last five years. Serenade Foods Emergency Response Plan Serenade Foods and Maple Leaf Farms have developed an joint emergency response team to deal with any accidental release of ammonia into the environment. The team has been trained and equipment has been ordered to enable the team to set up a command center which will contain the P & I D drawings for both facilities, communication equipment, decontamination equipment, tools, level A suits, SCBAS, & all emergency phone numbers. Warsaw HazMat Team is our backup in the event of a catastrophic release or a release at night or on weekends. They have toured our facility and given us their hazard analysis. We will be having drills twice yearly to familiarize the team with the equipment and procedures to be followed. Planned Changes to Improve Safety The Serenade Foods Processing Plant employees have all completed Ammonia Awareness training and more intense on the job training is being set up for the maintenance and management personnel. That will take place in the next two months. The Process Safety Management Program has not been completed for all the changes which have been made to the plant with the addition of the distribution center. The Maintenance SOP's are scheduled to be completed by August 1st and training of all maintenance personnel scheduled for September. As a part of Maple Leaf Farms Inc. Crisis Management plans all access to the ammonia refrigeration of Serenade Foods will be limited to authorized personnel . The Plant Safety Committee is taking an active role in the implementation of the emergency response plan, thus making all employees aware of the dangers of ammonia. WE are working closely with an engineering firm which specializes in Process Safety Management and they will be conducting our compliance audits. We have already set up the policies and will within 6 months have the contractor do an audit. The audit must wait until all currently identified deficiencies have been corrected. Serenade Foods will continue to be the number one food processor of duck and chicken in the world if the Executive Group continue to su pport the current Process Safety Management Program which is in place. |