Frequently
Asked Questions about LNGs
Q:
A: LNG is natural gas that has been liquefied
by super cooling to -260°F (-162.2°C).
This reduces the volume that the gas occupies
more than 600 times making it easier to transport.
Currently, imported LNG is 95% – 97%
methane, with the remainder a combination
of ethane, propane, and heavier hydrocarbons.
LNG is considered a flammable liquid. It
is odorless and colorless. In its gaseous
state it is used for heating and cooking.
Q:
A: Excelerate Energy and Tractabel North America
both propose building LNG terminals
10-miles off Gloucester to go online in 2007
to 2009 and supply the Northeast with roughly
400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day
(GDT, 2/17/05). Specifically, these terminals
will be located in inshore fishing grounds where
fishermen have been making their living for
the last 400 years and just outside the boundary
lines of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
Q:
A: When in operation, two tankers, each the
size of three football fields, would
anchor at large buoys off the coast of Gloucester.
The liquefied natural gas on the ships would
be vaporized aboard the vessels. The gas would
then be pumped into underground pipes and carried
14-16 miles, connecting with the Algonquin natural
gas pipeline off the coast of Marblehead (GDT,
2/2/05).
Q:
A: No! The 850-mile pipeline system that starts
in Nova Scotia, runs through
Maine, and into Dracut, MA is underutilized
carrying only about one-third of its capacity.
This pipeline cuts through hundreds of residential
areas to bring natural gas to the Boston area
and the company’s
goal is to use the pipeline to
bring 500 million to 1 billion more cubic feet
per day into MA by 2007 or 2008 (GDT, 3/11/05).
Q:
A: There are three primary concerns:
- Human safety
- Environmental safety
- Disruption of fishing and other marine
and recreational activities
- Too close to population
centers (the other US offshore facility
is 116 miles off the coast of Louisiana)
- Technology
is untested
- Released LNG can create a flammable
vapor that could travel 2.5
to 7 miles before dispersing. It could be ignited at
any point engulfing population centers, boats,
or another tanker. Gloucester is ten miles
from the proposed site. The proposed site is also less
than one mile from the major channel used
for shipping off the North Shore
- Accidents: while tanker hulls are constructed
for maximum safety,
accidents or attacks are possible at many potential points:
rupture to line, misfit of connection,
collision of boats, buoy opening to pipeline,
terrorist attack
- Huge amounts
of air pollution from tankers (over 100 tons
per year per vessel)
- Intake of more than 100 million gallons
of sea water each day
sucking in hundreds of millions of fish eggs and marine
life
- Disruption of vital and fertile fishing
grounds, such as Stellwagen
Bank
- Leaks from storage compartment while open
to facilitate transfer
- Increase in water temperature.
- More
fishing ground closures within the “safety” zone
(one-fourth of a mile)
- No vessels with underwater
gear can operate within two-thirds
of a mile
- No traffic out to nearly one and one-half
miles when the tanker
is approaching
- Security zone of six miles for
all commercial and recreational
vessels when a tanker is present
- Represents important feeding grounds for
endangered Northern
Right, Humpback, and Fin whales.
PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE
When an activity raises the threat of harm to
the environment or human health, precautionary
measures should be taken even if some cause
and effect relationships are not fully established
scientifically.
The principle applies to human health and the
environment. The ethical principle behind the
precautionary principle is that humans are responsible
to protect, preserve, and restore the global
ecosystems on which all life, including our
own, depends.
It’s the common sense idea behind many
sayings: “Be careful.” “Better
safe than sorry.” “Look before you
leap.” “First
do no harm.”
Please click the links below for more information
on this project.
From the Gloucester
Daily Times:
1st Offshore Terminal Now Operating
LNG says "it's
safe!"
From Associated Press:
LNG Sites Divide Coastal
Regions
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