— from Janet Alderton —
The 30,000 gallon liquefied propane storage tank that is proposed to be sited on Seaview in a residential neighborhood near the Eastsound Airport would be a potential threat to all of Eastsound. If it exploded, shrapnel could be propelled more than a mile by the Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion (BLEVE).
Please watch this Canadian safety and training video for first responders to Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions.
A BLEVE results in the explosive release of vapor and boiling liquid. For propane tanks, the blast results in flying projectiles, fireballs, and thermal radiation.
- 320 meters (0.21 miles) is the minimum observation distance for 40,000 liter (10,500 gallon) propane tank to avoid excessive heat radiation.
- 1800 meters (1.1 miles) evacuation distance is required to avoid projectiles from a 40,000 (10,500 gallon) liter propane tank.
- 40,000 liters equals 10,500 gallons.
So for a 30,000 gallon propane tank, the evacuation and observation distances would be much larger.
Please let Fire Chief Williams (swilliams@orcasfire.org) and Councilor Rick Hughes (rick@sanjuanco.com) know that you are concerned.
I do not think that the proposed 30,000 gallon liquefied propane storage tank should be sited in a populated area unless it is buried to an adequate depth to protect from fire or other heat sources.
So what do we do with the 90,000 gallons that are located 2 blocks from this location? Simply because we can’t see it, is it somehow less dangerous? By my calculations it is 3 times as dangerous.
Or the massive gasoline storage tank that is sited 1 block from this location, within impact distance from passing cars on Mt. Baker Road?
The root of this issue is bad zoning and bad planning by the county. Adoption of density regulations that force residential and industrial zones to occupy the same neighborhood have forced residential zoning into such a tight area that there is no way to avoid conflict. Perhaps if we had not set ourselves up with King Couny based design, we wouldn’t have King County type issues. But alas… this is what we asked for.
For a BLEVE to occur, some things have to happen:
https://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-155/issue-4/features/bleve-facts-risk-factors-and-fallacies.html
BLEVEs are rare, but the risk still exists.
Unprecedented wildfires are burning in neighboring British Columbia. Over 40,000 people have been forced from their homes.
I lived in Berkeley, California during the Oakland Hills Firestorm that destroyed entire neighborhoods. If the winds had not shifted, my home would have burned too.
The question is, must people die before we change what is obviously a radical incompatibility in continuing to site flammable and potentially explosive substances near peoples’ homes, schools, preschools, medical centers, our main fire station, etc. I spoke to Councilor Hughes about this issue. He said he is helpless to oppose permitting the 30,000 gallon liquified propane storage tank on a dead-end street in a residential neighborhood. The Fire Commissioners say they have no authority to prevent it. Fire Chief Williams said he had no power to deny this permit. He did strongly recommend that this new propane storage tank have an automatic fire foam system that would deploy in the case of a propane leak or a fire. He said that he could not require this. It is obvious to me that we, the people of Orcas, should demand that all existing and any new storage facilities for flammable substances over 500 gallons must have automated fire foam systems. We should not accept the response from our elected officials that they are powerless to require this common sense safety system.
I would like to entertain a different notion.. while fear exists of a the new sight being devoloped for a 30,000 propane gallon tank. Mr Paulson is absolutely spot on with his comments of what already exists in this very same community as a real threat.
As a past East Sound Planning Commitee Chair, this topic was brought up several times in my tenure.. where is the appropriate area of High Exposure Risks that our Island seems to want, and need.
A fellow Islander and Steward of what truly exists today had made me very aware of EPRC’s roll as the community core.
His comment was directed to a larger cause then I or ours in group realized..
When looking at Eastsound, be aware of the larger use of the entire Island’s needs that descend on the community core for its commercial and retail needs..
They come to town daily for groceries, fuel, hardware.. etc.
His comment was directed at awareness, not just specified issues.
So my point is even broader.. when one looks at growth for the future. Which is going to happen in my humble opinion.. planning is about where you want that growth to happen!!
Eastsound is not capible nor in my opinion sutible with its now and preposed high density for such a mixture of risks…
so the question remains, where should it be?
It wasn’t hard for our group to concider where the existing Dump facility, the SanJuan Waste facility, the Cement Batch plant and Rock Quary facility and finally the Island Excaviting Co established themselves.
These properties all have something in common.. low density residential occupancy and fundamentally are more practical for large truck transport then trucks driving all the way into Eastsound staging for transfer.
This is something our community and Counsel need to address.. or we will continue on a path of none compliance or rather bad zoning use with arbritration being resolved by checkbooks.
This is solely my own comment from the ground level, I will entertain a higher leval if presented.
Cheers.
The International Building Code (IRC residential version) governs residential requirements for set-backs and safety requirements relating to residential use propane tanks. In no case, does the code suggest or require that tanks over 500 gallons require a fire suppression system. There are several hundred (perhaps over 1000) of this sized tank on Orcas alone. To assert that these existing, permitted, inspected and properly installed tanks pose an imminent danger requiring millions of dollars in safety feature overhauls is a flawed and distracting argument that completely distorts the entire discussion. Mishandling of a backyard BBQ tank is more likely to cause harm to the average user.
Exactly, Justin.
My 500 gallon propane tank is buried.
I think this is a good solution for protecting the tank from fires.