Rapid River Depropanizer - Executive Summary |
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RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN RAPID RIVER DEPROPANIZER AND STORAGE FACILITY DOME PETROLEUM CORP. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE POLICIES At the Rapid River Depropanizer and Storage Facility, we are committed to operating and maintaining our processes in a safe and responsible manner. We use our accidental release prevention program in combination with the emergency response planning program to help ensure the safety of our employees, the public, and the protection of the environment. This document provides a brief overview of the comprehensive risk management activities that we employ. This document contains statements and information relating to the following areas: * A description of our facility and use of substances regulated by EPA's RMP regulation * A summary of results from our assessment of the potential offsite consequences from accidental chemical releases * An overview of our accidental release prevention programs * A five-y ear accident history for accidental releases of chemicals regulated by EPA's RMP rule * An overview of our emergency response program * An overview of planned improvements at the facility to help prevent accidental releases from occurring and adversely affecting our employees, the public, and the environment * An overview of the management system in place to ensure RMP compliance 2. STATIONARY SOURCE AND REGULATED SUBSTANCES The Rapid River Depropanizer and Storage Facility, owned and operated by Dome Petroleum Corp., a wholly owned subsidary of the BP Amoco Corporation, is located at 10955 U.S. Highway 41 in Rapid River, Michigan. The facility has one 30,000-barrel storage spheres with an internal can, allowing the sphere to provide storage for inlet NGL and outlet C4+. Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) are drawn from Lakehead Pipeline. The NGL is fed to the depropanizer which produces a commercial grade propane product (HD-5 specification) from this NGL feedstock. The C4+ (a b utane/condensate mixture) off the bottom of the depropanizer tower is returned to sphere can for continued shipping down Lakehead Pipeline. Propane from the depropanizer is stored in four bullets and distributed to local markets by means of the truck loading facility. In our process, we use the following substances that EPA has identified as having the potential to cause significant offsite consequences in the event of a substantial accidental release: Toxics There are no listed toxic substances above threshhold quantities. Flammables The following is a complete list of listed flammable substances at this facility. The alkane hydrocarbons constitute the products that we handle and process. The ethyl mercaptan is the odorizing agent we inject into the sales propane, which is subsequently sold commercially. Substance and CAS No. Ethane 74-84-0 Propane 74-98-6 Isobutane 75-28-5 Butane 106-97-8 Isopentane 78-78-4 Pentane 109-66-0 Ethyl Mercaptan 75-08-1 Our acci dental release prevention programs and our contingency planning efforts help us effectively manage the potential hazards that are posed to our employees, the public, and the environment by our handling of these substances. 3. KEY OFFSITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS SCENARIOS EPA's RMP rule requires that we provide information about the worst-case release scenarios and alternative release scenarios for each process our facility. The following are brief summaries of these scenarios, including information about the key administrative controls and mitigation measures to limit the exposure distances for each scenario: Worst-case Release Scenario - Regulated Toxic Chemicals There are no listed toxic substances at the Rapid River Depropanizer and Storage Facility. Alternative Release Scenario - Regulated Toxic Chemicals There are no listed toxic substances at the Rapid River Depropanizer and Storage Facility. Worst-case Release Scenario - Regulated Flammable Chemicals The RMP rule specifies that we identify the greatest quantity of a flammable mixture from a vessel or from a pipe and calculate the distance to an endpoint of 1 psi overpressure resulting from a vapor cloud explosion of that quantity. In this case, the contents of the storage sphere at maximum controlled inventory represent this greatest quantity, i.e., 4,825,500 pounds of natural gas liquids. The maximum inventory in any sphere is limited by site operating procedures and control devices to 81.2% of total volumetric capacity. The calculated hazard distance for this worst case scenario is 1.4 miles. Alternative Release Scenario - Regulated Flammable Chemicals The alternative scenario selected involves the rupture of a loading hose at the propane truck loading facility. The scenario assumes that the loading hose ruptures, that the driver does not initiate the emergency shutdown (ESD), that the excess flow valve fails, and that the maximum flow from the loading pumps, 320 gpm, continues until the releas e is isolated two minutes later when the area gas detectors initiate an ESD. The released mass under this scenario would amount to 2600 pounds of propane, all of which was assumed to be involved in a vapor cloud explosion. The endpoint distance to a 1 psi overpressure is 390 feet. We use this information in the development of our site and community emergency response plans which attempt to address all reasonable contingency cases. 4. GENERAL ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM AND CHEMICAL-SPECIFIC PREVENTION STEPS 4.1. PREVENTION PROGRAM (LEVEL 3) The process at Rapid River Depropanizer and Storage Facility, which is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) risk management program (RMP) regulation, is also subject to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration's (OSHA's) process safety management (PSM) standard. The document which outlines the accident prevention program in use by Dome Petroleum Corp. is Process Safety Management , Performance Basel ine, Rev. 0, 5/31/94. A management of change is currently under review to modify this document to incorporate all the requirements of the EPA's RMP regulation. This Performance Baseline document is summarized in the Prevention Program report (not submitted) and covers the following required elements: * Process safety information (PSI) * Process hazard analysis * Operating procedures * Training * Mechanical integrity * Management of change * Pre-startup review * Compliance audits * Incident investigation * Employee participation * Hot work permit * Contractors 4.2. CHEMICAL-SPECIFIC PREVENTION SYSTEMS The principal hazards associated with the substances at the Rapid River Depropanizer and Storage Facility are fire and explosion and pressurized equipment. Systems maintained here that contain or control the hazards associated with the substances handled include: * Smokeless flare system * Process relief valves and rupture disks * Automated isolation v alves * Manual isolation valves * Diking around the storage sphere * Diking between the propane storage bullets * Redundant process, control, and safety equipment * Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) * Continuous monitoring for detection of the presence of atmospheric hydrocarbons * Continuous monitoring for detection of fires * Video surveillance Mitigation systems include: * Fire water system, including a large pond reservoir * Fire extinguishing equipment * Emergency response training for all plant personnel * Emergency response plan coordinated with municipal responders * Personal protective equipment required for workers on site 5. FIVE-YEAR ACCIDENT HISTORY We keep records for all accidental releases that occur at our facility. There have been no accidental releases involving materials covered under EPA's RMP rule during the past five years at this facility. 6. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM We maintain a written integrated contingency plan, which consolidates all of the applicable federal, state, and local regulatory requirements for emergency response planning. Our program provides the essential planning and training for effectively protecting workers, the public, and the environment during emergency situations. Furthermore, we coordinate plans with the community emergency response planners, which for us primarily involves establishing response plans with the Rapid River Fire Department. Public notification procedures are in place. A summary of the Dome Petroleum Corp. Emergency Procedures Guide, Rapid River Terminal, November 1, 1996, is included in the Emergency Response Plan report (not submitted). The Guide is organized as follows: * Section 1 Immediate Actions * Section 2 Table of Contents * Section 3 Organization * Section 4 Emergency Response * Section 5 Duties and Responsibilities * Section 6 Specific Functions * Section 7 External Resources * Section 8 Recovery * Section 9 Emergency Preparednes s * Section 10 Administration 7. PLANNED CHANGES TO IMPROVE SAFETY The following is a list of improvements that we are planning to implement at the facility to help prevent and/or better respond to accidental releases: An upgrade to the control system is currently underway. The new system will allow us to bring in several times the number of monitoring points and is a much faster system, allowing for better real time monitoring of the process. We are working with local authorities and other operating facilities in the area to develop an area emergency response exercise for the summer of 1999. 8. RMP MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Richard Boyer, the area foreman, has the responsibility for ensuring that the Rapid River Depropanizer and Storage facility operates in a safe and reliable manner. This responsibility includes overseeing the implementation of the elements of our risk management program. To ensure that our risk management program is appropriately developed and implemented, Ri chard has been assigned the role of PSM/RMP Coordinator. The PSM/RMP Coordinator, acting with the authority delegated directly from the area superintendent, Larry Jardine, has the responsibility for the development, implementation, and integration of the EPA RMP elements and the elements of OSHA's PSM program (where applicable) as required under Section 68.15 of the RMP rule. There are several resources from throughout the BP Amoco organization that have provided assistance in the preparation of this Risk Management Plan. The RMP Management System report (not submitted) details the persons assigned to each area of responsibility. |