Respondent is the owner and/or operator of a candy manufacturing facility, which has registered an RMPlan with the EPA for its Facility and has developed an RMProgram accidental release prevention program for the Facility. At its Facility:
a. Respondent produces food products
b. Respondent has on-site for storage, 18,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia
c. Respondent has one RMProgram level 3 covered process, which stores or otherwise uses a toxic substance in an amount exceeding its applicable threshold of 10,000 pounds
On February 25, 2020, the EPA conducted an on-site inspection of the RMProgram related records and equipment for the purpose of assessing the Respondent’s compliance with the RMProgram requirements and the implemented recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP) for its covered process at its Facility.
During a walk-through of the Facility, the EPA inspectors made the following observations:
1. The secondary entry door to the ammonia machinery room from the food processing area was not labeled to indicate that entry is by authorized personnel only.
ANSI/IIAR 2, Section 6.15.3 states each machinery room entrance door shall be marked with a permanent sign to indicate that only authorized personnel are permitted to enter the room.
2. The exit door from the ammonia machinery room into the ice-making process was not tight fitting at the bottom and did not contain panic hardware. Additionally, the door from the maintenance room to the ammonia machinery room area was fastened to remain open, did not contain panic hardware, was not tight fitting at the bottom, and did not swing in the direction of egress. IIAR Bulletin 110, D.2 requires each refrigeration machinery room to have a tight-fitting door or doors opening outward, self-closing if they open into the building, and adequate in number to ensure freedom for persons to escape in an emergency.
ANSI/IIAR 2 13.3.3.1 requires ammonia machinery rooms have tight-fitting doors that open outward and are provided with panic-type hardware.
3. Some of the stop valves in the ammonia compressors piping did not have labels or tags. ANSI/ASHRAE 15-2013 bulletin 9.12.6 requires the stop valves to be suitably labeled if the components to and from which the valve regulates flow are not in view at the valve location. Valves or piping adjacent to the valves shall be identified in accordance with ANSI A13.1. When numbers are used to label the valves, there shall be a key to the numbers located within sight of the valves with letters at least 0.5 in. (12.7 mm) high.
4. The ammonia machinery room ventilation system did not meet current IIAR standards. According to the facility’s refrigeration system checklist dated November 6, 2012, the ammonia machinery room (AMR) had a gross volume of 53,760 cubic feet. According to Section 6.14.7.1 of IIAR 2 (2014), emergency mechanical ventilation systems shall provide not less than 30 air changes per hour based on the gross machinery room volume. To achieve 30 air changes per hour in the AMR, the mechanical exhaust system should provide 26,880 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of air exchange.
The current system provides 20,380 cfm of air exchange.
5. Ammonia piping was not adequately supported in one location near the ceiling of the AMR.
ANSI/IIAR 2, Bulletin 114, Section 13.4.2 states refrigerant piping shall be isolated and supported to prevent damage from vibration, stress, corrosion, and physical impact.
6. At the time of the inspection, the Respondent had not submitted a correction for the emergency contact email address for its RMPlan within one month of a change in that information.
ALLEGED VIOLATIONS
Based on EPA’s compliance monitoring investigation, the EPA alleges that the Respondent violated 40 C.F.R. Part 68, the codified rules governing the Act’s Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions and Section 112(r) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7412(r), when it:
a. Failed to document that equipment complies with RAGAGEP, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.65(d)(2), and
b. Failed to update emergency contact information within one month of any change in the emergency contact information for which the RMPlan was submitted as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.195(b).
Respondent consents to the payment of a civil penalty, which was calculated in accordance with the Act, in the amount of TWENTY-SIX THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO DOLLARS ($26,872).
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