Fall River water treatment facility in Massachusetts settles Clean Air Act compliance issues with EPA

The Fall River Water Filtration Plant in Massachusetts has agreed with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to upgrade the facility in order to avoid the use of chlorine gas.

The plant will use sodium hypochlorite for water disinfection in place of chlorine gas. It has been using 50t of chlorine gas a year.

EPA said in a statement: "Exposure to chlorine gas, an extremely hazardous substance, presents significant health risks, because if it is released it can be severely corrosive to the eyes, skin and lungs.

"Operators of the Fall River Water Treatment Plant will be using sodium hypochlorite as an alternate disinfectant, which is easier to handle and less hazardous than chlorine gas."

The proposed upgrades at the facility are expected to cost $449,000.

Fall River has settled with the agency over the alleged violations of the Clean Air Act’s chemical accident prevention regulations. It will have to pay a $5,000 penalty for the violations.

EPA New England regional administrator Curt Spalding said: "Removing chlorine gas from this facility will eliminate the chance of an accidental release from this source and improve the safety of Fall River residents, while not compromising water treatment.

"Facilities that store and use hazardous materials have a special obligation to understand and carefully follow regulations designed to protect people, our communities and our environment from potentially catastrophic consequences of accidents."

EPA noted the potential risk of storage and handling of chlorine gas at the facility during its inspection in 2013, when it was observed that the water filtration plant failed to adhere to the risk management plan.

The risks identified by EPA included inadequate/blocked ventilation, undocumented calibration and/or maintenance programme for the chlorine detectors located in each area, and absence of records indicating whether the detectors were operational and/or functioning properly.

The Fall River facility corrected all the issues mentioned by the agency earlier this year.

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Image: The South Watuppa Pond is a major source of drinking water for the city of Fall River. Photo: public domain.