Three companies reveal action plans for catastrophic events

Thursday, May 20, 1999 | 12:42 p.m.

Three Southern Nevada industries revealed their worst-case scenarios if a hazardous chemical escaped from the plants in what officials said was the beginning of an open-door era for the community and its industrial plants.

Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp.'s plan showed that a loss of 28,000 pounds of hydrogen sulfide in the air could affect people in a 9-mile radius. Pioneer Chlor-Alkali Co. could release a detectable chlorine cloud extending for 18 miles, reaching into Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Sloan, in a worst-case accident.

The companies did not say how many deaths or injuries would be expected from such catastrophic events, because officials said they cannot predict the weather or timing of an accident, which would affect casualty totals.

The federal government requires companies have an action plan for worst-case scenarios if they use any one of 77 chemicals deemed hazardous. The federal mandate requires 66,000 companies to list prevention measures, emergency responses and community right-to-know information by June 21.

Besides hydrogen sulfide, Kerr-McGee could release chlorine, ammonia, boron trichloride or sulfur dioxide, Plant Manager Pat Corbett said. The chemicals can irritate the eyes and linings of the nose, throat and lungs, causing serious burns.

Kerr-McGee, Titanium Metals Corp. and Pioneer Chlor-Alkali Co. are three of the major 13 Southern Nevada companies with hazardous chemicals requiring an action plan, Mark Zusy, the state's chemical accident prevention director, said. They made the plans public for the first time at a meeting with Henderson residents Wednesday night.

Under the new rules spelled out in the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, a one-pound release of hydrogen sulfide or 10 pounds of chlorine requires the company to report to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.

While the three chemical companies are posting some information on a new website -- www.cmusn.org -- the worst-case scenarios will not be included because the FBI and the CIA fear terrorists might trigger an incident based on that information, Zusy said. Individuals may request the information from the state in Carson City after June 21, he said.

The new risk management rules apply to about 25 companies statewide, Zusy said, including such companies as Gold Bond Ice Cream of Henderson, which uses ammonia in its cooling system.

Corbett said there has been "a quantum leap" in safety and protection of workers and the community since the May 4, 1988, explosion of Pacific Engineering & Production Co., an ammonium perchlorate plant at the Basic Management Industrial complex, 15 miles southeast of Las Vegas.

Ammonium perchlorate is a rocket fuel booster also made at Kerr McGee. Kerr McGee plans to stop making the fuel at the site by 2002.

The 1988 explosion, which leveled the Pacific Engineering & Production Co. plant and sent parent company American Pacific to Cedar City, Utah, raised community concerns. After chlorine leaked a green cloud from Pioneer Chlor in 1991, Clark County firefighters worked with Henderson to better handle emergencies, Mike Cyphers, chemical engineer for the Clark County Fire Department, said.

Since then Henderson officials have teamed with the plants to place an early-warning system into the dispatch center, Police Chief Tom Burns said. In addition, a reverse 911 communication system is being built that could call 2,000 households an hour to warn residents about conditions during a chemical release.

Kerr-McGee, Titanium Metals and Pioneer Chlor formed the Chemical Manufacturers and Users of Southern Nevada about a year ago in an effort to open lines of communication with the community, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson noted. The companies were not required to host the meeting or go public, he said.

The companies also offered plant tours and pledged to keep the community informed.

However, some of the 300 residents who came to the Henderson Convention Center wondered about risks from dangerous chemicals stored on site. Adrian Zolkover, a resident living on a hill at U.S. 95 and Horizon Drive, said she could smell acrid odors from her home.

Some parents worried about children exposed to a chemical accident while they are at school. Schools are considered "safe bubbles" and teachers practice taping 2-inch-wide duct tape around windows and doors to seal students safely inside, David Broxterman of the Clark County School District said. However, he said, the district will give teachers further training.