Recommended research on LNG safety
摘要
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting research on the safety and other environmental aspects of liquefied energy gases including liquefied natural gas (LNG). The effort reported here was conducted as part of the planning for further research into the safety aspects of transporting and storing LNG, with primary emphasis on public safety. Although the modern LNG industry has enjoyed excellent success in providing for safe operations, significant questions remain on the part of many, the expressions of which were intensified with the addition of marine-based LNG import terminals. Public safety with regard to large-scale importation of this fuel has received widespread attention in the US Congress, state legislatures, county and city governments, and from various individuals and public groups, with coverage in all the news media, including books published on the subject. The safety concerns have centered around the consequences to the public of a large spill of the cryogenic liquid from an ocean tanker or a larger storage tank, either of which might hold as much as 125,000 m/sup 3/ of LNG.