LEAK DETECTION
The explosion at the
Buncefield Oil Depot at
Hemel Hempstead has
vividly brought to mind,
especially for the general
population, the huge power
contained in petroleum
storage tanks (see our
analysis of the Buncefield
incident on page 25). For
those charged with the
responsibility for ensuring that
petroleum and chemical
products remain safely
contained where they are
stored, thoughts will turn
again to the design and
construction of tanks, and the
means of monitoring the
integrity of the containment.
For the academic or
development engineer there is
the website of the National
Work Group on Leak Detection
Evaluations (NWGLDE), based
in the USA. Each year, around
March, it publishes a list of
the leak detection evaluations
it has conducted on storage
tank systems, and this year
will see the 13th edition.
NWGLDE does not act as a
testing agency. Its purpose is
to act as an independent
reviewer of leak detection
system evaluations, and to
determine if the evaluation
was performed in accordance
with an acceptable leak
detection test method.
endeavours to ensure that the
leak detection system meets
US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) or other
relevant regulatory
performance standard. It is
also charged with reviewing
test methods that have
previously been examined by
peer review committees, and
it publicises the results of its
findings to interested parties.
The actual evaluation of
leak detection equipment,
procedures, and systems is
undertaken by an independent
third-party source that bases
its examination on the current
EPA Standard Test Procedures
for Evaluating Leak Detection
Methods (EPA/530/UST-
90/004 to 010) or other
relevant test procedures.
