Awareness Training Goals - Salinas Valley Ammonia Safety Day

Ammonia Safety Day
Initiate emergency action plan. Set the hot zone and define the area most at risk for the first stage of your
response; help people escape - rescue (when properly trained and PPE equipped). If the leak is incidental,
stop the leak by following equipment shutdown procedures if it’s possible to do so without being exposed
to ammonia above the permissible exposure limit or IDLH when wearing proper PPE.
Alert facility response team
Contact the Facility Emergency Coordinator and on-site response team. When the personnel arrive, inform
them of the site status, employee location, medical emergencies and severity of the incident. The Facility
Emergency Coordinator (FEC) should take command and implement LANCE and SIMPLE protocols. All
members of the response team must be properly trained and equipped with PPE.
Notify
Call 911 for local emergency response support; call them early to stop the problem when it is small. Also
report to local, state, and national response officials immediately (within 15 minutes) if containment of the
release is not achieved and the release is perceived to have reached the reportable quantity, or if exposure
to offsite receptors is likely or has occurred. The Facility Emergency coordinator may request trained
office staff to make the actual calls using the “One Plan” forms. Reporting requirements for local and state
regulatory agencies must be incorporated into the response plan.
Contain and Control
Restrict the release by closing doors. Consider closing the king valve or the main liquid and hot gas
supply valve to stop the flow of ammonia to the affected equipment if applicable to the situation. These
valves are defined in the P&IDs, valve tags, pipeline labels, and leak control SOP’s with digital
photographs. In some instances the trained operator may elect to operate certain equipment in order to
help minimize the release in affected areas.
Evacuate
Move laterally and upwind. Some instances may be suited for sheltering in place. Move all personnel not
involved in refrigeration control activities to a safe distance from the affected area. Assess the extent of a
release area with monitoring equipment and include the property perimeter to determine whether any
neighboring off-site receptors are affected and notification must be issued. Refer to the building and site
plans and map out the evacuation strategy. The FEC should consider appointing an Evacuation
Coordinator and use Public Address System communications to alert facility employees to the direction of
the ammonia release and any specific evacuation considerations.
Transition to SIMPLE Plan: When LANCE is completed, take a breath, gather your composure and
consider the containment and control plan by reviewing the SIMPLE plan.
Injury Prevention & Health Concerns
22. Give an example of Prevention, Mitigation, and Preparation?
23. What type of personal protective equipment (PPE) should an operator wear when working around the
ammonia system?
24. What’s the immediate area of concern should a problem develop while working on the system?
©ASTI – www.ammonia-safety.com – August 2008 7