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Creve Coeur details safety upgrades as ice rink switches from R‑22 to ammonia
Summary
Parks staff outlined safety systems, testing and an energizing timeline for the ice-rink R‑22-to-ammonia conversion, including gas monitoring, an airtight vestibule, eyewash stations and emergency kill switches; staff targeted energizing the system Nov. 20.
City recreation staff told the Creve Coeur City Council on Nov. 1 that the ice-rink—s planned R‑22-to-ammonia conversion includes multiple life-safety measures and a controlled energizing schedule.
Jason Valvero, director of recreation, said the facility opened the rink project May 1 and is operating a temporary unit that runs continuously while crews finish the conversion. That temporary unit has raised electric costs, staff said, and the city expects a temporary increase in utility expenses while the unit is in place.
Valvero described the safety features that must be in place before ammonia is allowed on-site: a four-level gas-monitoring and alarm system tied to strobes and sirens; an airtight entry vestibule that will display when it is safe to enter; eyewash stations in both the vestibule and compressor room; multiple emergency stop (kill) switches inside and outside the compressor room for staff and fire responders; and an emergency action plan to be prepared by the contractor (B32) and tested with the fire marshal. Valvero said the fire marshal will not permit ammonia on-site until the monitoring system, vestibule sealing and testing are validated.
Valvero said the system includes a dilution/containment tank and a tall ventilation stack to safely disperse any releases above the roofline. He described a ~12-foot tank designed to receive and dilute released ammonia, and said the planned on-site inventory would be about 1,000 pounds—well below thresholds that trigger additional federal reporting and higher-level EAP obligations.
Staff plans to energize the new ammonia system on Nov. 20 and to keep a temporary unit on standby outside for several weeks during the initial start-up period. Valvero said the city will require contractor-provided prework, multiple fire-marshal inspections and a two- to three-hour emergency-action review and training prior to opening. Valvero also noted several pending change orders related to additional eyewash plumbing and an extra exterior kill switch requested by the fire marshal.
The update closed with council questions about parking impacts during the temporary operations and with staff—s assurance that they will schedule additional tests and training before bringing ammonia on-site.
The council did not take a vote on the project summary; staff will return with any contract change orders and final inspection sign-offs as required.
