Details

Parent Category: Safety Info Posts

Category: PSM and RMP Citations/Analysis

Published: 13 March 2024

This is an unusual case in that it involved a 20-pound release of NH3 during a "line break" on a refrigeration system.  There was only a single citation and it came at a price of $38,500.  The employee was injured.  I have been unable to locate an OSHA investigation regarding this incident, which occurred in TX.  This case is also interesting in that the company agreed to implement:

• All employees and contractors are to follow the line break requirements and use an air-purifying respirator
• Implement a buddy system when performing work associated with line breaks around the ammonia system
• and others

Respondent is the owner and operator of a cheese manufacturing plant. On March 16, 2023, there was an incident at the Facility that resulted in the accidental release of 22 pounds of anhydrous ammonia and the injury of one (1) employee (the “Incident”). On January 11, 2024, the EPA requested documentation and information concerning the Incident and Respondent’s compliance with Section 112(r) of the CAA and 40 C.F.R. Part 68 (the “Investigation”).

The process includes fluid milk unloading, cheese manufacturing, cheese packaging and storage, liquid whey processing, whey powder packaging, storage, and shipping. Processing aid substances handled and stored onsite consist of ammonia and sanitation chemicals. The Respondent’s processes meet the definition of “process” and “covered process”, as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68.3. The Respondent’s RMP Program Level 3 covered process stores or otherwise uses a regulated substance in an amount exceeding the applicable threshold. Anhydrous ammonia is a “regulated substance” pursuant to Section 112(r)(2)(B) of the CAA, and the regulation at 40 C.F.R. § 68.3. The threshold quantity for anhydrous ammonia is 10,000 pounds, as listed in 40 C.F.R. § 68.130. Respondent has greater than a threshold quantity of anhydrous ammonia in a process at the Facility, meeting the definition of “covered process” defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68.3.

EPA Findings of Violation

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