Facilities where plume and wind modeling pays off
LR-x® is at its best around sites that store or process toxic and flammable materials, especially where hills, valleys or buildings make the wind hard to read. Here is how it fits each one.
What every site gets
- Terrain-aware wind. A U.S. Army Research Laboratory 3D wind field model that maps wind over hills, valleys and buildings. How it works.
- ALOHA plume models with color-coded threat zones, run from current weather and updated automatically. LR-x® can model any chemical ALOHA can model, including hydrogen sulfide and chlorine: over 500 pure chemicals and some common chemical solutions (NOAA).
- Three additional forecasts, one completing about every 2 minutes, to see a wind shift coming.
- Tier II data on nearby reporting facilities, with contacts.
- KML export to ArcGIS. LR-x® exports the real-time plume model, the real-time 3D wind field model and the three forecast models as KML files you can use in ArcGIS.
Oil refineries
The hazard
Toxic gas such as hydrogen sulfide, which OSHA lists among the hazards of oil and gas refining, plus fires and explosions. At the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in 2019, the CSB found 3,271 lb of hydrofluoric acid went into the atmosphere.
Why LR-x® fits
LR-x® models H2S and chlorine releases. A dense site of tanks, columns and buildings where the wind swirls and channels. The 3D wind field shows eddies around structures; the fixed configuration runs 24/7 on on-site sensors.
Who uses it
Refinery emergency response teams, local fire and hazmat, mutual aid, the LEPC.
Tank farms, fuel terminals and pipeline terminals
The hazard
Tank and piping fires that put smoke over a city for hours, and vapor releases. In February 2018 a fire at the Magellan terminal in West Fargo, ND burned for about seven hours and led to a five-mile shelter-in-place advisory.
Why LR-x® fits
LR-x® had a plume model running within five minutes of the Magellan fire. ALOHA does not model smoke, so the wind field and forecasts are how you track where it goes.
Who uses it
Terminal operators, local fire and hazmat, county emergency management, the LEPC.
Oil and gas well sites, sour gas wells and gas plants
The hazard
Hydrogen sulfide: heavier than air, it travels along the ground and collects in low areas. The NIOSH IDLH is 100 ppm, and it deadens the sense of smell at high concentrations.
Why LR-x® fits
Wells are often in hilly, remote country. LR-x® models H2S releases. LR-x® maps the wind over the actual terrain, so responders can see air channeling along drainages and judge where H2S may flow and collect, and a portable on-scene sensor fills in where public stations are far away.
Who uses it
Operator safety and emergency staff, rural fire districts, county emergency management, the LEPC.
Sources
Chemical manufacturing plants
The hazard
Chlorine, which CDC says stays close to the ground and sinks to lower areas, and ammonia, which can form a dense, low white cloud when released in quantity.
Why LR-x® fits
LR-x® models chlorine and H2S releases: ALOHA threat zones with weather applied automatically, a wind field that accounts for buildings and terrain, and Tier II data on the neighbors.
Who uses it
Plant emergency response and process safety teams, local hazmat, the LEPC.
Rail yards and transload facilities
The hazard
Tank cars of chlorine, ammonia and fuel gathered in one place. In Graniteville, SC in 2005, a breached chlorine tank car killed nine people and about 5,400 people within a mile were evacuated.
Why LR-x® fits
LR-x® models chlorine releases like Graniteville. Deploy from a map pin, model with the nearest public weather station while en route, and see how the wind runs along the cuts, valleys and embankments rail lines follow.
Who uses it
Railroad hazmat and safety staff, local fire and hazmat, the LEPC.
Sources
Other Tier II sites storing chlorine, ammonia and similar chemicals
The hazard
Any facility that reports hazardous chemicals above EPCRA thresholds. Those Tier II inventories go each year to the State Emergency Response Commission, the LEPC and the local fire department.
Why LR-x® fits
LR-x® puts EPCRA Tier II reporting facilities on the map with contact information, updated monthly, so planners and responders can see what is stored nearby and model a release from it, including chlorine and H2S.
Who uses it
Local fire departments, LEPCs and the facilities themselves.
Sources
Incidents and company names on this page come from public reports and are cited as examples of the hazards these sites face. LR-x® was used during the 2018 Magellan terminal fire; no other incident here is an LR-x® deployment, and no company named is claimed as a customer.
See LR-x® run on a real incident location
We will walk your team through a live model for an address in your response area. Or start a 30-day free trial and run it yourself.