ARTICLE - Q4 2022

"Ammonia Safety in the Packaged Ice Industry"
by Rick Reeves, Co-Writer/ Submitted by Dan Laurencelle, Arctic Glacier, Inc.

It’s no secret that in our industry we run as hard as we can for as long as the weather allows. When the season is over, the Plant Manager may be the Engineer, Packaging, and Distribution Manager all at the same time. In our industry it seems inevitable that when the baggers are down, Joe’s Liquor is out of ice and truck #5 is out of commission.
 
Due to peak seasonality of our business, the refrigeration side of the industry can sometimes get put on the bottom of the list.  However, we all know that we can’t safely run an ice plant without the refrigeration working properly.  Routine preventative maintenance practices must be in place to ensure the integrity of the system and safe work procedures must be followed to prevent ammonia leaks.
 
Often, we require our seasonal or full-time employees to start and stop the ice makers, compressors, and condensers.
Anyone that starts and/or stops any ammonia refrigeration equipment MUST be trained to understand refrigeration cycles, gauge readings and how important the safe, upper and lower operating limits are. We need to communicate the consequences of going outside of these parameters (consequence of deviations) and what to do if the temperatures and/or pressures approach or exceed these limits.
 
This is where ammonia safety comes in.  All staff in our industry need annual Ammonia Awareness Training.  The following are ways we can protect employees, prevent losses at our plants and provides some considerations on how to manage an ammonia release.
 
PROTECT EMPLOYEES

• Provide and enforce the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as eye protection, ear protection, properly fitted and certified respirators,  personal monitors, chemical gloves and safety boots.
• Practice Emergency Response preparedness and evacuation drills.
• Educate employees on how to respond to different types of ammonia exposures: vapor, liquid, aerosol spray and what to do in the event of contact with eyes/skin/clothing.
• Ensure eyewash stations are available and operating properly.
• There are various Ammonia safety organizations that can provide various levels of training. A few sites: ASTI (https://ammonia-safety.com/) / JJ Keller (https://www.jjkeller.com/home) / GCAP (https://www.ammoniatraining.com/) / ARTS (https://ammonia-training.com/)

  
PLANT LOSS CONTROL

• Ensure a thorough preventative maintenance program is in place that includes testing, maintenance and scheduled replacement of pressure relief valves (PRV), ammonia hoses, and refrigerant oil
• Install, maintain and test loss prevention equipment such as ammonia detectors, alarm strobes/horns
• Ensure record keeping, housekeeping and required signage is up to date and legible
• Maintain daily pressure and refrigeration temperature log sheets, and perform weekly and monthly inspections
• Install security barriers near refrigeration machinery to prevent forklifts from striking the ammonia equipment
• Invite first responders to familiarize themselves with your site in advance of any potential release

  
AMMONIA RELEASE

• Develop an emergency response plan with instructions, contact names, addresses, and phone numbers and post them in an obvious location. 

• At the time of reporting, document the name of the agency, the time the call was made, and the person that you spoke with, along with the report number. 
• Estimate the amount of ammonia released at the time of reporting.
• Update the agency with the accurate of amount of the ammonia released, once the investigation has been completed.

 
Ammonia is safe if used properly. Let’s make the Packaged Ice Industry the safest ammonia user out there.