Commodities
Gulf Coast Families in LNG Terminal Danger Zone
A giant tank of super-cold gas sitting near your town can contain enough explosive material to demolish your entire community, but outside experts are not allowed to verify it is operating safely.
The Gulf Coast residents live with this uncertainty every day. In 2016, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) promised new safety rules for LNG, or super-chilled liquefied natural gas, but ten years later that job still isn't finished.
Families near these plants don't know if the plants or the ships that dock at them are safe. A computer program called FLACS predicts how a potential leak would spread and ignite, but it's kept secret.