CloseLoss of Containment
BLEVE of an LPG Vessel
The fire outside cooked the tank until the whole thing flashed into a fireball.
What happened
A pressurised liquefied-gas vessel (LPG/NGL) is engulfed or impinged by fire. The liquid boils, pressure climbs, and the unwetted vapour-space steel weakens until the vessel tears open — the superheated liquid flashes instantly into a blast plus a huge fireball: a BLEVE.
Why it matters
Feyzin 1966 put "BLEVE" into industry vocabulary by killing 18 (mostly firefighters cooling the wrong things); Pemex San Juanico 1984 chained successive BLEVEs into one of the worst industrial disasters in history. A BLEVE fireball's lethal radius extends far beyond the plant fence.
Control sequence
- Apply cooling water to the fire-exposed vessel — especially the vapour space.
- Initiate emergency depressuring to lower stored energy.
- Track pressure and wall-temperature trend against the escalation clock.
- Order withdrawal to safe distance BEFORE the BLEVE threshold — the decisive call.
How often
Rare but recurrent: literature surveys count 74 BLEVEs worldwide 1926–1986 causing 1,427 fatalities (Abbasi & Abbasi BLEVE overview, ResearchGate), and 77 BLEVE accidents 1941–1990 with ~900 deaths and >9,000 injuries (BLEVE bibliometric review, J. Loss Prev.…
Consequences
Feyzin 1966: sphere BLEVE'd after ~90 minutes of fire exposure; 18 dead, ~80 injured (well-cited history; primary = French inquiry). Pemex San Juanico 1984: chained LPG-sphere/bullet BLEVEs; commonly cited ~500–600 dead, thousands injured (estimate range —…
Evidence gate: publish only after verification
- 74 BLEVEs 1926–1986, 1,427 fatalities (Abbasi overview).secondary
- San Juanico death toll ~500–600, estimates vary widely (source doc flag preserved).secondary
Experience
Coming soon
EON Life Simulation
Walk into the accident and practise freely, no score. The physics decides, unscripted.
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