ABOVEGROUND TANK SAFETY ISSUES
A Note To Fire Marshals. Bob
Benedetti of NFPA in a discussion of the major causes of AST fires, said, ". . . the common element is the
release of a flammable liquid (i.e., gasoline) due to an overfill or a break in the piping system. Once the fuel
is out in the open and evolving vapors, then ignition is possible from any number of sources. The key is to prevent
the release from occurring at all . . ." (Tank Talk, Steel Tank Institute, March/ April, 1994).
Preventing fuel releases from occurring
at all is the hallmark of the SuperSafe Tank - the concept according to which the system was designed by SuperSafe
Tanks, Inc. The SuperSafe Tank is in fact a system of specifically engineered 'fail-safe' components working to
eliminate out- of-control releases due to tank overfills, fuel spills, leaks or other less recognized threats.
SuperSafe ensures safety through prevention of those events that can and have led to catastrophe.
The key to the SuperSafe design is
its patented Cylindrical Dike. This engineered secondary containment design fully encloses the entire primary tank,
all of its piping, liquid connections and the emergency vent. The Cylindrical Dike is 25% greater in capacity than
the primary tank, and the interstitial space between the two is purged of oxygen and filled with nitrogen to render
this space inert - thus, oxidation cannot occur. Additionally, VOC emissions are reduced as the nitrogen blanket
creates a thermal buffer against the normal atmospheric heating, thus the inner tank isn't directly affected.
Where regulations seem to require
a UL-2085 insulated tank, safer and more cost-effective solutions should be considered. NFPA-30/30A both have code
equivalency provisions that clearly point out that nothing in the code is intended to prevent the use of systems,
methods, or devices of equivalent or superior quality, strength, fire resistance, effectiveness, durability or
safety over those prescribed by the code.
Equally important are environmental
protection issues and NFPA-30 clearly points out in 1-1.5.3 that many requirements may not have been anticipated
by the code and that the authority having jurisdiction may alter arrangements' to affording better protection as
necessary. With the superior approach to fire safety as demonstrated and documented, many fire safety professionals
agree that putting stone age concrete insulation around tanks may in fact be a very bad idea, as the following
analysis illustrates. However, concrete tanks cannot protect the population from the real dangers posed by aboveground
fuel tanks. A thorough API study of fires and aboveground storage tanks reported that the culprit isn't fire/explosion
but fuel overfill and environmental catastrophe. An above ground tank properly vented per API and NFPA, pressurization
of the vessel and subsequent structural failure, isn't possible.
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