LNG Tank Concrete Roof Falls, Staten Island NY– 40

lornajarrettblanchard February 10, 1973

–40 Center for Energy Economics. “Is LNG a Safe Fuel?”
–40 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 291.
–40 House of Representatives. Hearings…Subcommittee on Investigations… July 19, 11, and 12, 1973, 1973, p. 1.
–40 Khan & Abbasi. “Major Accidents in Process Industries…,” LPPI Journal, Vol. 12, 1999.
–40 National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. 1983, p. 139.
–40 Staten Island Advance. “LNG explosion…Bloomfield kills 40, destroys project.” 3-26-2011

Narrative Information

Center for Energy Economics: “In February 1973, an industrial accident unrelated to the presence of LNG occurred at the Texas Eastern Transmission Company peakshaving plant on Staten Island. In February 1972, the operators, suspecting a possible leak in the tank, took the facility out of service. Once the LNG tank was emptied, tears were found in the mylar lining. During the repairs, vapors associated with the cleaning process apparently ignited the mylar liner. The resultant fire caused the temperature in the tank to rise, generating enough pressure to dislodge a 6-inch thick concrete roof, which then fell on the workers in the tank killing 40 people.

“The Fire Department of the City of New York report of July 1973 determined the accident was clearly a construction accident and not an “LNG accident”.

“In 1998, the New York Planning Board, while re-evaluating a moratorium on LNG facilities, concluded the following with respect to the Staten Island accident: ‘The government regulations and industry operating practices now in place would prevent a replication of this accident. The fire involved combustible construction materials and a tank design that are now prohibited. Although the exact causes may never be known, it is certain that LNG was not involved in the accident and the surrounding areas outside the facility were not exposed to risk’ .” (CEE. Is LNG a Safe Fuel?”)

Staten Island Advance, 2011: “Staten Island, N.Y. –…. it took a tragedy to bring the hazards of LNG to the forefront of international debate. The date was Feb. 10, 1973. A smaller, 600,000-barrel LNG tank built by the Texas Eastern Transmission Co. just a few miles north of the Rossville site in the Bloomfield area had been emptied and was being repaired when a flash fire broke out.

“Natural gas trapped inside the tank fueled the fire, which led to an explosion that rocked the tank’s concrete roof and sent it crashing down on the workers 100 feet below. Forty men died in the inferno, causing one of the bleakest days in Staten Island’s history.

“That disaster prompted Mayor John V. Lindsay — an early supporter of the Distrigas project — to impose an immediate ban on the construction of any more LNG facilities within the city. Remedial state legislation was also enacted.

“But the most serious setback for the Rossville project came just a few months after the Texas Eastern disaster. Reversing its earlier decision, the Federal Power Commission ruled that Distrigas had to apply for commission approval to build and operate the facility. At the same time, Distrigas’ contract with its Algerian suppliers had expired without the necessary permits in hand. In January 1975, Distrigas’ parent company, The Cabot Corp. of Boston, decided it would pump no more money into the stalled project and announced it was turning over the entire facility to Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G), the New Jersey utility that held a $60 million mortgage on the project.

“By 1979, the utility found itself still holding title to an empty set of tanks. So it applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to store domestic pipeline gas for use during heating fuel shortages that might occur during the coldest winter weeks. The federal agency concluded its hearings on the request in 1982 but withheld its decision until PSE&G could satisfy objections raised by the federal Department of Transportation on the company’s safety plans. By the end of 1984 — and just months after a chemical leak in Bhopal, India, killed more than 2,000 people — PSE&G decided it was futile to go on, and the project was abandoned.” (Staten Island Advance. “LNG explosion in Bloomfield kills 40, destroys project.” 3-26-2011.)

Sources

Center for Energy Economics. “Is LNG a Safe Fuel?” Accessed 4-21-2009 at: http://www.beg.utexas.edu/energyecon/lng/LNG_introduction_10.php

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

Khan, Faisal I. and S.A. Abbasi. “Major Accidents in Process Industries and an Analysis of Causes and Consequences.” Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, Vol. 12, 1999, pp. 361-378. At: http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:http://202.38.89.99/Loss_prevention/99503.pdf

National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.

Staten Island Advance. “LNG explosion in Bloomfield kills 40, destroys project.” 3-26-2011. At: http://www.silive.com/specialreports/index.ssf/2011/03/lng_explosion_kills_40_destroy.html

United States House of Representatives. Special Subcommittee on Investigations. Hearings Before the Special Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Ninety-Third Congress. First Session of Legislative Issues Relating to the Safety of Storing Liquefied Natural Gas, July 19, 11, and 12, 1973 (Serial No. 93-42). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1973. Accessed 5-19-2020 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Staten_Island_Explosion_Safety_Issues_Co/GbLQAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Fire+Department+of+the+City+of+New+York,+Report+of+Texas+Eastern+LNG+Tank+Fatal+Fire+and+Roof+Collapse,+February+10,+1973,+July+1973.&pg=PP7&printsec=frontcover