Kanto Corporation - Executive Summary |
|
COMPANY AND PROCESS DESCRIPTION Established in 1990 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Kanto Chemical Corporation, which has been in business for over 40 years, we supply the most advanced & competitive industry in the world. We provide the process chemicals used by the semi-conductor industry. The companies we supply provide the items we use on a daily basis both at home and at work, the computer wafers/chips. As a leading supplier of high purity process chemicals we are dedicated to leading US industry as the most advanced supplier of process chemicals and related services. Through research expenditures we seek to continue to be the industry roadmap supplier in terms of process chemicals. We design, engineer, manufacture, & install systems for demanding applications in a safe and environmentally sound manner. High purity is essential to our business. High purity drives strict adherence to safety and quality practices. We have systems in place to protect the purity of our produc ts. This high purity allows for better chips. This demand for high purity drives safe and redundant operating systems, contained and closed chemical systems, all in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. Our safety and purity requirements drive our design and operations to maintain all chemicals in closed systems. Our employees provide leadership to our vendors to insure safety, quality, and customer satisfaction. Our employees are trained in safety, hazardous materials, chemical handling, emergency response, etc. We are the leading supplier because we are committed to bringing expertise inside our customer facilities through our total chemical management programs. Kanto also maintains an alliance with Stanford University, and we have received many supplier excellence awards, and have been consistently graded as the top material supplier. Our manufacturing facility in Portland, OR, has also operated since start-up in 1996 with zero industrial wastewater discharge violations . The process covered by EPA's Risk Management Planning requirements is the storage of ammonium hydroxide in our chemical warehouse. In order to supply our customer needs of a consistent supply of chemical on demand, we maintain an inventory of chemicals in our warehouse, one of which is ammonium hydroxide. Ammonium hydroxide is a solution of ammonia gas and water that is covered by the rule due to the ammonia vapors that are emitted from the water solution. Ammonium hydroxide is brought in bulk containers and repackaged into drums inside our clean room. The drums are then transported to the warehouse building for storage. The quantity of chemical processed from bulk containers is not significant enough to likely result in offsite releases and is thereby not covered by the rule. The purity of our chemical requires any open containers to be handled inside our clean room, which is 100% exhausted through air scrubbers to remove contaminants. The warehouse operations does not resul t in any open chemical containers, it only consists of the storage and truck loading of finished drum product. SUMMARY OF MAJOR HAZARDS Ammonium hydroxide is a colorless liquid that is commonly found as household ammonia. It has a strong, irritating odor and is used by our customers as a cleaner for semiconductor chips. Ammonium hydroxide readily releases ammonia by vaporization and can affect persons when inhaled. The chemical is corrosive and contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes, and if untreated could cause permanent damage. Exposure to vapors can be severely irritating to the nose, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO CONTROL HAZARDS The scenario modeled for our worst case release scenario was a total failure of the largest container potentially stored in the warehouse (1000 liter tote), as specified by the EPA. The design of the warehouse includes containment systems designed to hold the conten ts of containers and sprinkler water flow. This worst case release into the containment system results in a potential offsite release of .06 miles (318 feet) as calculated with EPA's RMP Comp modeling software. Within this release area, there are no public receptors, including industrial facilities. EXPLANATION OF HOW RELEASES ARE PREVENTED To prevent an accident related to the storage of any chemical, Kanto Corporation has instituted a comprehensive safety and health program, which includes top management commitment, written programs, training, auditing, and accountability. All personnel that transport or handle containers of chemicals have been trained in chemical safety and handling. The fork lift operators that transport the chemical are all certified with Kanto's own internal fork lift certification program, with instructors certified by the National Safety Council fork lift trainer program. ACCIDENT HISTORY Kanto Corporation has an excellent safety record and to date, the re have been no incidents in the 4 year history of the facility that have resulted a chemical spill or release requiring special hazardous materials response capabilities or offsite impacts. STEPS TAKEN TO ADDRESS HAZARDS The storage warehouse was built in 1998 and includes several safety features included in the modern design. The warehouse is separated by chemical type to eliminate reactive chemicals from coming in contact with each other. Each storage area has independent spill containment that will contain chemical spills should they occur. The building is completely protected by an automatic fire suppression system, and the flammable storage area includes a foam fire suppression system throughout the room and in the storage racks. The ventilation system has enough capacity to adequately ventilate the entire warehouse to prevent the accumulation of hazardous levels of vapors during storage of chemicals. All chemical handling areas (indoors and outdoors) are fully contained t o prevent any spill or leak from entering ground or water. Only Kanto certified forklift drivers are permitted to transport chemical product. Only experienced drivers are hired into Kanto, and then receive additional training on Kanto's forklift safety training program. The drivers then practice with simulated loads until the trainer is confident in their ability prior to final certification. This level of forklift training and awareness ensures only the best drivers are moving chemical goods. RESPONSE ACTION IN EVENT OF A RELEASE All Kanto Corporation employees involved with chemical handling have received extensive training on hazard communication, chemical specific safety and hazards, small spill control techniques, and protective equipment. Although the facility does not maintain an on-site hazardous materials response team, the level of training provided employees who work in the chemical handling areas allows them to clean up small spills and leaks that may occur. For lar ge, uncontrolled, spills or releases the facility relies on response from the Portland Fire Bureau hazardous materials team and hazardous materials response contractors. While these services have never been necessary, the partnership and preplans are in place should the services be required. |