Chlorine Gas Safety: Preventing Chlorine Gas Leaks In The Pacific Northwest

ChlorTainer Secondary Containment Vessels Provide Chlorine Gas Safety

One of the many places you’ll find ChlorTainer providing chlorine gas safety is Olympia, Washington’s state capital. The municipal water department serves more than 50,000 residents and supplies up to 9 million gallons of water a day. The water is treated with the most affordable and safest method of disinfection: chlorine gas. To ensure safe treatment at its main facility, Olympia houses its chlorine gas containers in two One-Ton ChlorTainer vessels. At a satellite facility, it utilizes the smaller 150-pound ChlorTainer vessel.

This wasn’t always the case. Before going online with ChlorTainer in November 2014, the water department supplied water the same way it had since 1949: from a lagoon fed by underground springs. The lagoon was exposed, so to meet the State Department of Health requirements, the water department had two choices. They either had to use a second treatment technology, such as UV, on its surface-supplied water, or negotiate water rights in order to dig wells that would eliminate the need for secondary treatment. The water department chose to go with the latter option.

ChlorTainer Chlorine Gas Safety Solution Recommended by Engineering Firm

The enlisted engineering firm designed a completely new treatment system that included ChlorTainer vessels in its specifications. Today, the city uses two One-Ton vessels at its main treatment facility, one as a primary vessel and the other for automatic switchover.

Olympia, Washington’s main treatment facility, which is roughly five miles from the nearest town, is a testament to the municipality’s trust in ChlorTainer’s safety.

Although Olympia’s main treatment facility sits roughly five miles from the nearest town, it’s a testament to the municipality’s trust in ChlorTainer’s safety. It’s One-Ton ChlorTainer vessel’s nearest neighbor is a mere eighth of a mile away. Similarly, at one of their satellite sites using a 150-pound ChlorTainer vessel, it sits just 100 yards from the closest neighbor.

Even so, Ed Main, Remote Systems Technician for the city of Olympia, has no concerns should a leak occur. He says even in the rare occurrence of a leak, there would be no emergency. The automatic shutoff valve would engage and contain the leak. In addition, there would be plenty of time for staff to respond, and as an extra backup, the local fire and police departments have access to the lock box.

ChlorTainer Requires Minimal Maintenance

Ed Main describes the required maintenance on the ChlorTainer vessels as “almost nothing.” With few moving parts to attend to, upkeep has required little more than replacing the O-ring and a flex line. He sees no reason why the vessels won’t last at least 50 years. One of the reasons for the longevity of ChlorTainer’s vessels is the company’s commitment to delivering parts promptly to its customers and continually improving its designs. ChlorTainer’s excellent customer service includes supplying improved replacement parts—even when they aren’t requested.

ChlorTainer is Committed to Our Customer’s Success

One day, to Ed’s surprise, he received a package from ChlorTainer with a letter explaining the company had made some tweaks to its system. Without asking, ChlorTainer sent him an improved part for his use, free of charge. The part was a shark tooth clamp that attaches to the lip of a cylinder to ease its removal from a ChlorTainer vessel. Ed admits the original bar the clamp replaced was not ideal, and was very grateful for the improved part sent free of charge. “It just showed up at the door. You don’t see that often. It works great.”