BOSTON FACES LNG DANGERS:

A leak from a liquefied natural gas tanker in Boston Harbor could catch fire and even explode, threatening people three-quarters of a mile away, according to a new government report. The report commissioned by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission also concluded that in some scenarios, a leak could create a flammable vapor cloud that might travel several thousand feet before dissipating. U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), said the report “suggests that some of the accident scenarios involve enormous fires that could cause deaths, severe burns to people several thousand feet away, and hot enough to burn wood and melt steel closer in.” But at the same time, the report’s authors noted, their report had its limitations. The report said that, for example, there is no experimental data available to act as a model for a major LNG spill. The report also noted that it only addresses the potential consequences of a leak, without looking at whether such an event was likely to happen. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, LNG tankers were temporarily barred from Boston Harbor. Fears that the tankers could be targeted for terrorist attacks were raised higher recently when the FBI revealed that stowaways with links to Al-Qaida had entered Boston on the tankers as far back as 1995.