What are the public safety issues related to LNG?
• Flammable Vapor Clouds • If LNG is spilled, the resulting LNG vapors (methane) will warm, become lighter than air, and disperse with the prevailing wind. Cold LNG vapor will appear as a white cloud • If a source of ignition is present where LNG vapors (methane) exist at 5%-to-15% concentration in the air, the vapor cloud will burn along a flame front toward the source of the fuel • To keep the public safe, vapor dispersion exclusion zones are calculated and plotted to determine how far LNG vapors (methane) could possibly travel from a storage facility and still be flammable. These zones must not reach beyond a property line that can be built upon • Fires • If LNG is spilled in the presence of an ignition source, a fire will result from the continuous evaporation of the LNG contained within the impoundment • Since this fire would burn with intense heat, thermal exclusion zones are also calculated and plotted to keep the public at a safe distance from possible heat exposure • “Liquefie
