Willow Brook Foods Inc. - Executive Summary |
|
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WILLOW BROOK FOODS INC. 405 N. JEFFERSON SPRINGFIELD, MO. Willow Brook Foods Inc. formally Hudson Foods Inc. with local locations at 405 N. Jefferson and 501 N. Main, has been in operation in the city of Springfield and area since 1979. We are a manufacture of poultry and poultry products. We currently employ over 350 people at our Jefferson Street Operations and over 700 people at our Main Street Operations. Our product is shipped all across the United States and to several countries outside the U.S. The 405 N. Jefferson Street plant was purchased by James T. Hudson in 1989 and has been producing retail ready and wholesale turkey products since then. The company since 1989 has operated under the name of Hudson Foods Inc. and briefly as Tyson Foods Inc. The company is currently doing business as Willow Brook Foods Inc. with ownership locally as well as joint ownership out of San Antonio, Texas. The personal safety and health of each employee of this company is of pri mary importance. The prevention of occupationally induced injuries and illnesses is of such consequence that it will be given precedence over operating productivity whenever necessary. We continually strive to be a member of the community in good standing. We are long time active members of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (L.E.P.C.) as well as members of The Safety Council of The Ozarks. We provide the required "worst case release" and "alternative release" scenarios for the Jefferson Street Operations as follows: (These scenarios were created using RMP COMP (tm) provided by the E.P.A.) WORST CASE SCENARIO: A.) Accidental release of ammonia (NH3) B.) The physical state of this release was gas liquefied by refrigeration. C.) The quantity released was 15,000 pounds, which purged the holding tank. D.) The rate of release was 1,500 pounds per minute. E.) The release duration was 10 minutes. F.) The wind speed was 1.5 miles per hour. G.) Our atmospheric stability class is F. H.) O ur topography surroundings are urban. I.) The distance to the endpoint is 0.70 miles. J.) The estimated residential population within distance to the endpoint is 7,560 residents. K.) We have public receptors within the distance to the endpoint. L.) We have no environmental receptors within the distance to the endpoint. ALTERNATIVE RELEASE SCENARIO: A.) Accidental release of ammonia (NH3) B.) The physical state of this release was gas liquefied by refrigeration. C.) The quantity released was 1,000. D.) The rate of release was 100 pounds per minute. E.) The release duration was 10 minutes. F.) The wind speed was 3 miles per hour. G.) Our atmospheric stability class is D. H.) Our topography surroundings are urban. I.) The distance to the endpoint is 0.10 miles. J.) The estimated residential population within distance to endpoint is 6. K.) We have public receptors within the distance to endpoint. L.) We have no environmental receptors within the distance to the endpoint. We fall under the federal mandated Process Safety Management Program (P.S.M.). We also follow O.S.H.A. as well as the IIAR guidelines closely. We have several safe guards in place to monitor the pressure in our ammonia system and automatically react in the case of a problem. We have both Refrigeration and Maintenance employees on duty on site 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. We also have a 50 person Haz-Mat Team (Hazardous Material Handling Team), with full Haz-Mat equipment at both our operations. Within the last 5 years we have had one accidental release at the Jefferson Street with approximately 420 pounds of ammonia being released into the air. This release happened on June 2,1998. We did evacuate the plant to assure employee safety. The plant was evacuated for less than a half an hour. A pressure release valve, "pop off" valve is used to control the pressure in the ammonia lines. The cooling water in the ammonia condenser became too low causing a pressure relief through the "pop off" valve for approximately 10 minutes. The release was stopped by shutting down the compressors, allowing the "pop off" valve to reset. As stated we have a 50 person Haz-Mat Team with Haz-Mat Equipment. We have on going training classes with our Haz-Mat Team to include 24 hours year hands on and class room training. We also work closely with both the Springfield Fire Department and the Local Emergency Planning Committee. We welcome the opportunity to participate in the Risk Management Program. We are proud to be a part of the Springfield Community. Greg Abbiatti General Manager Springfield Operations Certification Statement To the best of the undersigned' knowledge, information, and belief formed after reasonable inquiry, the information submitted is true, accurate, and complete. Name: Art Burnett Title: Safety Director Date: 05/10/1999 |