After last weeks tragic triple fatality ammonia refrigeration accident in Canada, this weekend’s database work really caught my attention when I saw who holds the #1 spot for “# of deaths”. It seems that a food plant in Indiana with an ammonia refrigeration process with 16,000 pounds of NH3 had a release in August 2015 that killed six (6) workers; at least that’s what their March 2016 RMP update claims. Being #1, when #1 puts you at the top of RMPs with “# of Deaths”, is not where you want to be and this is what it looks like:
The facility did indeed have a release in August 2015 of 446 pounds of NH3 (based on RMP update as shown below; NRC report stated 850 pounds as shown below – but these NRC reports are usually reported higher and then revised down) but there was no media report of even any injuries, much less a fatality, or six (6) for that matter. As well, the NRC reports there were no injuries or fatalities.
RMP:
NRC Spreadsheet:
It was reported to the NRC as:
CALLER IS REPORTING AN ELECTRICAL SHORT SHUT DOWN A COMPRESSOR WHICH CAUSED VAPOR TO BUILD, RESULTING IN RELEASE OF AMMONIA VAPOR (to atmopshere).
I did a database check on OSHA inspections in the state of IN during that time and it appears OSHA never even opened an inspection into this release. A quick scan of OSHA Fatality Reports for this time period also does NOT mention any fatalities at this facility.
There is not even any indication that EPA inspected the facility after the release, but being #1 on the RMP # of Deaths list will certainly improve your chances of an EPA inspection.
I have reached out to the facility as a friendly gesture so they can get this “corrected”; however, the damage is already done, as they will most likely remain #1 in this category for the next 3-6 months until the database gets updated/refreshed. The damage to their “brand” is immeasurable with this kind of error and to make matters worse, they paid a 3rd Party Preparer for this error. We can not lay all the blame on the preparer, as in most cases we have to rely on the facility for accurate information; but I can say that had we been told there was an accident that claimed six (6) lives we would have been asking a lot of questions.
As I said earlier this year, a little bit more attention to what is being reported can go a long ways to keeping your facility off EPA’s radar screen as well as protecting the business’s reputation. EPA (and OSHA) use this database to target their inspection resources, so we do NOT want to be #1 in any category! I would hope both agencies could see this as a reporting error and move on, but this facility may not be so lucky.
PLEASE NOTE: I usually remove all company names from my articles, but since this was an error in reporting I did not remove or block the company’s name.