ABSTRACT
On 4 January 1966 a cloud of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) escaped from a large propane storage sphere at Elf's Feyzin refinery adjacent to the A6 auto route near Lyon in France, during an operation to drain off an aqueous layer from the sphere. Trouble in store consequences was so severe. There were a number of factors that made matters worse. There was no gas detection system on the plant. On 26 April 1974 a bizarre sequence of events occurred at the Bulk Terminals tank farm in Chicago, Illinois, involving the release of silicon tetrachloride, a non-flammable material. The catastrophic events at Feyzin, Chicago and Mexico City should remain a warning to every operator of fuel storage premises that the hazard associated with storing large inventories of highly flammable fuels. The consequences of the Chicago incident were bad enough. Much worse were those of a disastrous explosion involving LPG in the crowded confines of Mexico City.
