City of La Porte - Water Works - East Plant - Executive Summary |
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The La Porte Water Works is committed to promoting a safe operating environment for the facility, its employees, and the community. The East Plant facility is in the process of developing a program for compliance with 29 CFR 1910.119, OSHA's "Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals" for the chlorination process. Compliance with this regulation, and EPA's "Risk Management Program Rule" helps to prevent the release of chlorine from this process. Additionally, these regulations required development of procedures to minimize releases of chlorine in the event that they do occur, and to outline appropriate emergency response steps to take in the event of a release. The La Porte Water Works East Plant facility is located at 2011 East State Road 2, La Porte, Indiana, 46350. Among the processes required for proper treatment of potable water is the chlorination process. The chlorination process adds chlorine gas to process water to reduce bacteria. Chlorine is received in 1 50-pound cylinders. The process has been designed and constructed in accordance with all local, state, and federal codes and requirements. The chlorination process has a gas detection system that alarms should the concentration of chlorine reach 1.0 parts per million. The chlorination process is maintained and operated by personnel certified by the State of Indiana. The La Porte Water Works has developed its worst-case release scenario utilizing EPA's "Risk Management Program Guidance for Wastewater Treatment Facilities." This guidance document has been prepared for facilities that utilize chlorine. The scenario assumes that a 150-pound cylinder has ruptured, and released its contents with a 10-minute period. The release of 150 pounds of chlorine has a toxic endpoint of 0.4 miles under the conditions of the scenario. This distance is based on a concentration to which a person could be exposed for up to an hour without suffering irreversible health effects or other symptoms that wou ld make it difficult for that person to escape. It should be noted that such an incident is highly improbable. Chlorine cylinders are inspected by the chemical distributor each time they are filled. Loading and unloading activities are attended by trained operators. Cylinders are immediately transferred from the deliver truck into storage areas. The La Porte Water Works has developed its alternative release scenario also utilizing EPA guidelines. This scenario assumes that a 3/16-inch hole occurs in the system, and releases chlorine at the rate of 87 pounds per minute. For the conditions of this scenario, the toxic endpoint is 0.2 miles. Again, such an incident is highly improbable, as the chlorination system has been designed, installed, and maintained to maximize the mechanical integrity of the piping system. The La Porte Water Works Department Emergency Response Plan is based upon OSHA requirements for Emergency Action Plans. The plan has been coordinated with the La Por te Fire Department. |