Russell Stephenson Wastewater Treatment Facility - Executive Summary |
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The County of Okaloosa operates the Russell Stephenson Wastewater Treatment Facility located at the intersection of Rosewood Drive and US Highway 98 in Mary Esther, Florida. At the treatment plant, the facility stores approximately four (4) one-ton cylinders of chlorine. The one-ton cylinders are used on-site as a disinfectant in the treatment of wastewater. The Russell Stephenson facility employs approximately 4 full-time employees. Daily inspections of the area storing and/or using chlorine are conducted by the facility employees. In addition, the storage area is equipped with detection systems which sound alarms if a chlorine concentration of greater than one (1) ppm is detected. The one-ton cylinders are stored in a partially enclosed building. In preparation of the Risk Management Plan (RMP), both worst-case and alternative scenarios were considered. Under worst-case scenario conditions, a catostrophic event would occur releasing a full one-ton cylinder. The radius of the poten tially impacted surrounding area would be 1.3 miles. This scenario is highly improbable and did not consider the mitigation of a release by the partial enclosure. A more probable release event would occur if a transfer hose connecting the chlorine cylinder to the chlorinator was to fail. This scenario was the alternative scenario considered in the development of the RMP. This release event would have a potential impact radius of 0.10 miles from the site. This scenario accounted for the mitigation factor attributed to the partially enclosed building. The Russell Stephenson facility has not had an an accidental release in the last five (5) years. In the event a significant releases occurs, the Okaloosa County Department of Emergency Services would be notified immediately to respond. The Department of Emergency Services would dispatch experienced personnel trained to handle such situations. |