La Salle City Water Works - Executive Summary |
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The accidental release, prevention, and emergency response policies at facility -- It is the facility's policy to adhere to applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. If an emergency were to occur, the La Salle Fire Department will be notified and requested to respond. Facility and process description -- The La Salle Water Works facility is located in the southeastern portion of the city of La Salle (La Salle County), Illinois. The facility is a 4.0 million gallon per day water treatment operation. The facility services the city of La Salle and provides a separate line to Carus Chemical Company. Chlorine that is used in the treatment process is stored in three (3) 1-ton cylinders located in the chlorine room on the northern portion of the facility. The facility has made arrangements with the La Salle Fire Department to respond to any emergency associated with the facility and in particular the chlorine process. The worst-case release scenario -- The worst-case re lease scenario for the facility is the failure of one of the 1-ton cylinders, resulting in a release of chlorine gas. According to the EPA's RMP*Comp(TM) model, the toxic endpoint would be reached at a distance of 0.9 miles from the facility and would affect a population of approximately 5,800 people. The alternate release scenario -- The alternate release scenario assumes that a release occurs from one of the 1-ton cylinders, resulting in a release of chlorine gas. It is assumed that the release would be caused by a valve failure resulting in the release of the chlorine gas through the 5/16 inch diameter valve body opening. It is also assumed that the fire department would be able to respond to the release and mitigate the problem within 60 minutes. This scenario would result in a release of 340 pounds of chlorine over the 60 minute period for a release rate of 5.7 pounds/minute. Atmospheric stability class D was assumed for this scenario with a wind speed of 3.0 meters per seco nd, relative humidity of 50%, and a temperature of 77 degrees. The topography for the scenario is urban. The results of the EPA's RMP*Comp(TM) model indicated that the endpoint would be reached at a distance of 0.1 miles from the facility and approximately 100 residents would be affected. The general accident release, prevention, and chemical-specific prevention steps -- This facility complies with the EPA's accidental prevention rule and applicable state and local codes and regulations. Five-year accident history -- The facility has not had an accident involving the chlorine sytem that caused death, injuries, property or environmental damage, or resulted in evacuations. The emergency response program -- In the event of an emergency involving the chlorine system, it is the facility's policy to notify the La Salle Fire Department and request that they respond to the emergency. This policy has been discussed with the fire department; members of the fire department have inspected the chlorine system and are familiar with the facility. Planned changes to improve saftey -- There are no planned changes at this time to the current program. |