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_ F <br />SIERRA CHEMICAL CO., STOCKTON FACILITY <br />CHLORINE INCIDENTsnry�uA4� <br />NOVEMBER 26, 1999 <br />INCIDENT SUMMARY <br />On Friday, November 26, 1999, at approximately 7:30 am, Juan Larios, the operator on <br />duty, detected a chlorine leak. At the time the facility was manufacturing sodium <br />hypochlorite via the Powell Continuous Bleach Plant. No chlorine repackaging was <br />occurring at the time. Juan notified Richard Doss, the production supervisor. Richard <br />and Juan investigated the leak and saw a greenish -yellow cloud in the Powell room. <br />Juan closed the angle valve on the chlorine railcar that was being utilized while Richard <br />donned a self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and closed as many of the <br />warehouse doors as possible. Richard and Juan then secured the area and waited for <br />the building to vent. <br />At approximately 8:20 am, Richard notified Jeffrey Kinder at the Sparks Facility. Jeffrey <br />attempted to notify either Lynn Kinder or Stan Kinder of the incident. Lynn Kinder was <br />reached at approximately 12:00 pm and Stan Kinder was notified soon there after. <br />RELEASE DETERMINATION <br />Richard Doss reported that the bi-gas tank has previously been charged with 1000 <br />gallons of 20% sodium hydroxide. Sodium hydroxide at 20% solution contains 2.04 <br />pounds of sodium hydroxide (dry weight). Therefore, the bi-gas tank contained 2040 <br />pounds of sodium hydroxide (dry weight) available for chlorination. <br />The chemical equation for the reaction between chlorine and sodium hydroxide is: <br />C12+ NaOH —> NaOCI + NaCl + H2O <br />Based on the molecular weights (i.e., C12 MW = 70.914 and NaOH MW = 80.01), it will <br />be found that 1 pound of sodium hydroxide will react with 0.89 pounds of chlorine. <br />Therefore, the 2040 pounds of sodium hydroxide in the bi-gas tank would react with <br />1815.6 pounds of chlorine. <br />In the event of over -chlorination, the chlorine combined with the sodium and oxygen in <br />the sodium hypochlorite molecule would be released, while the chlorine combined with <br />sodium to form salt would remain. Therefore, the release quantity can be estimated as <br />907.8 pounds of chlorine. <br />