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An explosion occurred at a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Skikda, Algeria, on January 19, 2004. Twenty-seven people were killed. It had been reported that 56 employees were admitted to the hospital. The majority of them left the hospital the same day, but five were seriously injured. No members of the general public were injured. The fire took eight hours to extinguish.

According to analysis by IChemE, determining the best plant layout and equipment spacing would have minimized the risk of this major accident. Land use planning regulations that specified minimum separation distances between high-hazard facilities and residential buildings should also have been enforced.

When performing facility siting studies for your LNG plant, it’s important to keep in mind that the quality of a facility siting will depend heavily on the quality of scenario identification and consequence evaluation.

In this newsletter, Georges Melhem, Ph.D., FAIChE, presents an overview of LNG vapor cloud fire thermal radiation hazards and ways companies can reduce uncertainty in their safety and risk studies. Topics include:

• LNG Hazards & Risks
• Why is LNG Hazardous?
• Hazards of LNG Vapor Cloud Fire Thermal Radiation
• Advantages of Facility Siting
• Focus Your Facility Siting on This

The Skikda accident triggered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to require LNG applicants to identify all combustion/ventilation air intake equipment and distances to any possible hydrocarbon release comprising of LNG, flammable refrigerants, flammable liquids, and flammable gases. In addition, hazard detection devices must be installed to shut down this equipment in case of a release.

The first few minutes following an LNG release are the most important for hazard development and assessment.

Have a great and safe day.

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