City of Wilson Wiggins Mill Water Treatment Plant - Executive Summary

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City of Wilson 
Wilson, North Carolina 
 
Executive Summary 
 
 
The City of Wilson has implemented a comprehensive program to safely manage chlorine at its  two (2) water treatment plants located in or adjacent to the City of Wilson. There have been no chlorine incidents in the most recent five-year history period. 
 
In 1996, a Process Safety Management (PSM) program was initiated at the Plants with the assistance of Operations Excellence Consulting, Inc., a consulting firm. A PSM Implementation Manual has been edited to be site specific. The Manual was issued to the plants. With these steps, approximately 50% of PSM requirements were met.  
 
Key items included in the manual are: 
 
-Written site specific procedures for Employee Involvement, Management of Change, Incident Investigation, Pre-Startup Reviews and Self Audits; and 
 
-Chlorine safety information as required by the regulations. 
 
Next, these additional steps have been implemented to complete the PSM program. 
 
-Training on PSM and its k 
ey components including Management of Change, Mechanical Integrity and Incident Investigation; 
 
-Conducting  Process Hazards Analyses for the two chlorine processes; 
 
-Developing Standard Operating Procedures for safe Chlorine Management; 
 
-Developing an initial Emergency Response Plan; and 
 
-Training in support of the certification of operators. 
 
The manager, chief operator and several plant operators meet several time per year to review and update procedures and to maintain compliance with all aspects of the PSM regulation. 
 
In addition to PSM compliance, the plants have implemented a number of programs to improve the safe handling of chlorine. 
 
-The chlorine delivery systems at the plants have been upgraded to vacuum processes over the past 10 years. This process has proven to greatly reduce leaks by reducing the amount of equipment that is exposed to pressurized chlorine. 
 
-Chlorine lead detection alarm systems have been upgraded at both plants. These systems will allow a 
n early detection of and response to any chlorine leak. 
 
-Remotely operated chlorine cylinder shutdown valves are being installed on the chlorine cylinders at each plant. These valves will allow an operator to cut off the flow of chlorine whenever a chlorine leak is detected. 
 
The site's Emergency Response Plan (ERP) has been significantly upgraded. In 1996, the ERP was revised to include offsite response and communication. Chlorine Response Drills have been routinely conducted since 1998. 
 
To further understand chlorine risks, Operations Excellence Consulting, Inc., a consulting firm, was contracted to conduct "Offsite Consequence" Modeling Analysis, as required by EPA's Risk Management Program. Both a "Worst Case" and an "Alternative Case" chlorine release scenarios were studied for each site. 
 
The results showed that the risk of chlorine exposure varies depending on the plant's location: 
 
-The Toisnot Water Treatment Plant is located downtown in the City of Wilson on N. Pine S 
treet. The facility is surrounded by a railroad, highway, cemetery and other city facilities. Depending on a Chlorine release, neighboring business and residential facilities can be impacted. The facility sits in a low area, which will allow most leaks to remain on site. 
 
-The Wiggins Mill Water Treatment plant is located in the southwest part of the city off Forest Hill Road. Also, the local topography at the site favors the containment of any leak. Currently, there are only a few neighboring facilities on Forest Hill Road. The property in front on the plant is currently a farm field. The Wiggins Mill Reservoir is behind the plant. Thus, most chlorine releases will have little to no impact on the surrounding areas. 
 
In addition to Process Safety Management, the organization has an active safety program. The City of Wilson  has had an active Safety Committee. The committee meets monthly with representatives from each function and each site. The committee's duties include reviewing new  
safety procedures, accident investigations, safety surveys and safety communications. 
 
Within the Public Services Department, there are monthly safety meetings to review an OSHA subject or discuss a safety issue. Routine training is conducted for topics such as: 
 
 
- Hazard Communications 
 
- Personal Protective Equipment 
 
- Lockout/Tagout 
 
- Confined Space 
 
As a result of our programs, the plants have had a strong safety record with no loss time accident over the past three years. We plan to continue our emphasis on safety to maintain and improve our safety performance. 
 
Report by: 
 
Barry Parks, Manager  
Manager - Water Treatment 
City of Wilson
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