Anatomy of a Potential LNG Incident

Recent years have seen the growth in production and handling Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).  While the LNG industry is, in principle, similar to other hydrocarbon industries, the properties of LNG pose some distinct threats for their facilities. Among these are cold embrittlement, liquid metal embrittlement (associated with mercury contamination), rollover with rapid phase transition, and wide temperature swings.  Examples of major incidents for these and other related hazards are presented.  In addition, design and operational controls to prevent and mitigate the risk arising from these threats are discussed.  Various types of LNG releases are described and aspects of emergency response are also reviewed.  The paper closes with a comparison of some LNG misperceptions and actual factual information.