LIGHTNING RISK MITIGATION – MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE

Dr Akihiro Wakabayashi, CTO of Critical Facility Group, looks at why tank fires and explosions are still happening and what can be done to reduce the risk one of the biggest risks to external floating roof tanks (EFRT) is the exposure to potential tank rim fires and explosions. The occurrence of such incidents happens on a yearly basis in facilities around the world and causes significant impact on environmental damages, interruption to operation, business losses and in some cases severe injuries and loss of lives. A major cause of these tank fire and explosion incidents is lightning - one of earth’s most frequently occurring natural disasters. The meteorological office in the UK estimates that lightning strikes the earth around 3 million times a day. In a major study conducted on tank fires by the Swedish National Testing and Research Institute as early as 2004, it was discovered that almost a third of the 480 tank fire incidents reported in the media were caused by lightning. Another study, sponsored by 16 companies in the oil industry, also found that 52 out of 55 rim seal fires were caused by lightning. Many of these major fires took many hours and resources to...