Study: LNG tanker blast could burn victims one mile away - Newsday.com
WASHINGTON -- Fire from a terrorism attack against a tanker ship carrying liquefied natural gas could ignite so fiercely it would burn people one mile away, according to a congressional study.
It examined terror risks on the nation's waterways and concluded that further research is needed to understand the consequences of such a remarkable inferno.
The study by the Government Accountability Office was expected to be released Wednesday. It urged the Energy Department to perform new research on the risks from a major fire or gas release in terror attacks or natural disasters on such tanker ships.
Lawmakers said the latest GAO study coincides with projected increases of 400 percent in liquified (sic) natural gas imports over the next 10 years, as energy companies await federal approval on 32 applications to build new terminals in 10 states and five offshore areas. New tanker ships being launched are nearly twice as large as many current tankers, lawmakers said.
