City of Round Rock - Executive Summary |
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The water treatment plant uses chlorine to achieve disinfection and maintaining an adequate residual in the distribution system. The chlorine is delivered and stored in 2000 lb. containers at a central location in the water plant facility. The safeguards to prevent an accidental release of chlorine gas includes standard operatiing procedures and system safety devices. During the changing of chlorine cylinders there is always two people present. Each of these individuals have on self contained breathing apparatus' and one performs the change over while the other observes and provides any assistance necessary. This ensures safety of the individual and provides a backup in the event an emergency arises. In the last five years only one reportable accident occurred and no serious injuries resulted. While it is highly unlikely that a leak of a magnitude to empty a ton cylinder could occur, the impact of such a release would be minimal to the public and surrounding environment. Sinc e the delivery system is designed around a vacuum type arrangement the most likely scenario involves the failure of the yoke assembly on the chlorine cylinder. This would be a serious incident and would require immediate action. The response is structured for on-site staff personnel to contol the failure. However, local emergency response organizations have established routes to the facility and site alarms allow the plant personnel to evaluate the hazard and determine the best response. |