NEAFC 31st Annual Conference.pdf - New England Association of ...

NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS
THE FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARDS OF GASEOUS, FUELS
Consulting Mechanical Engineer
In the ~Nor-theastern States natural gas is only six years ol& Nevertheless, on
the record already available, it seems indisputable that-it offers a potential threat to
life and property of sufficient magnitude to warrant prominence on your list of local
fire and explesion hazards.
In .order to fully reali;ze the problems involved, it is necessary first to review, even
if o~Ay sketchily, the rapid growth of the natural gas industry.
Less than thirty years ago less than 4% of the total requirements of the United
States were supplied by natural gas; and even this was distributed on a purely local
basis. Within this period, production increased over seven fold until natural gas now
supplies c.ver 20% of our now greatly augmented energy needs through a network of
well over 200,000 miles of transmission lines.
Only six years ago, the conversion of the "big inch" and "little inch" lines to
natural gas marked the introduction of this fuel. into the Northeastern States; today
the amount distributed northeast of Washington, D. C., by three companies ~alone,
parallels the entire annual energy production of the anthracite industry.
This expansion and construction is by r~o means over. In fact, the Petroleum
Administration for Defense has just predicted that by 19~.y, over 94% of all gas
distributed to the ultimate consumer will consis< either all or in part, of natural g~s.
They further predict that almost 10 million tons of new pipe lines will be laid’in the:
next three years, and that over 70% of this new pipe will be over 16" in diameter.
A close connection is seen between this rapid, and at times almost .frantic, growth
of the natural gas industry and a failure to institute higher standards of safety in con;
struction and operation. A code designed in 1942 for gas transmission lines proved
adequate for the mesquite prairie crossings constituting most of the pre-war construction;
but it seems unfortunate that it was not more drastically changed when
larger diameter pipe lines began to traverse valuable .sn.burban properties, closely knit
farms, and even urban communities.
As a result we find that transmission lines are being built in such areas with
factors-of-safety that are only a fraction of those considered standard for other comparable
pipes designed to carry high pressure fluids. Other precautions normally taken
during orderly construction are often thrown to the winds in the haste to complete
lines in a minimum of time and at the lowest possible cost. Dumping pipes from cars
and trucks is a frequent example, despite the fully recognized hazard of even a deep
scratch to vessels carrying a full pressure load. One company has twice admitted in
court, in my presence, that their 16" pipe laid in the open for over a year without any
protection from the weather before being used. Even when questionedl as to the bursting
strength of the pipe being used, company engineers usually refer to general test
codes instead of citing from specific tests on the pipe at hand.
Even granting proper design and construction, there .are two separate and distinct
hazards in connection with the operation of natural gas lines, the mechanical
bursting of the pipe due to internal pressures in excess of its strength, and the ignition
of explosive mixtures contained therein.