There is quite a bit of literature and objective data available regarding the risk of natural gas transmission pipelines. The regulators have whittled down the essential information to two important parameters for determining risk for natural gas transmission pipelines. Those two items are the pipe diameter and the pressure. Engineers were hired many years ago to devise a simpler means of assessing the relative risk, and the records show that for the most part it was successful. They have actual heat flux figures to draw a line in the sand between high hazard potential or not. There are tables that describe how many seconds one can be exposed before they will receive blisters for a certain heat flux. They define the acceptable heat flux for a structure and then use that objective information along with the density and type of buildings to route the location of the pipeline. These are methods of risk assessment (severity and probability) that are couched in terms of pipelines and population. For example, a school has much greater weight than uninhabited farmland. These figures work well and they help to make risk objective rather than subjective, and based on real data rather than someone’s guess.
or contact Gary L. Jackson, P.E., CSP, CFEI at 1-800-624-0905 or gjackson@sealcorp.com for further information.
