Far Frontiers Gateway sector

[Murph]

242-2507 Gateway News Service- Gas Tank

An explosion occurred at one of the fuel storage tanks at Orbital Station #1 which was being dismantled. A worker was using a laser cutter to disassemble one of the remaining fuel storage tanks, and apparently the storage tank had been used unknowingly to store an explosive mixture of gasses which exploded when the laser cut through the wall of the tank. The tank ripped itself loose from the structure and proceeded on an exceptionally erratic course which finally ceased when the gas had run out.

The high pressure container was listed as empty in the records, but it appears that a software oversight in data entry had been made, and the cylinder which contained 5,000 tons of high pressure gas was full. The worker was severely injured, but a nearby work pod was able to grab him before he drifted into space.

His suit was torn, but the self sealing feature of the heavy work suit sealed the rip long enough for rescue crews to arrive and get him into a rescue pod. The large gas tank damaged three other work pods, one work ship, and the station, also imparting a momentum that required a deep space tug to arrest. The cylinder was captured after a short time.

Station #1 is being dismantled to make way for the new station which is being constructed nearby. The new station will have increased capabilities as well as being a larger and more modern facility. The old station is a relic of the initial settlement of the sector, and was in desperate need of upgrade. A spokesman for New Texas Orbital Construction, Inc said that they were now going back over all records to ensure that the remaining eleven fuel tanks were completely drained.

The errant cylinder did not impact any of the new construction of Station #1 in its flight across the system. However debris from the station has escaped and could pose a minor hazard to navigation, so all ships in the area are warned to be aware of the potential for damage from loose debris.

The worker, Mr. Walter Model-Higgins is listed at Station #2 infirmary as in stable condition, suffering from vacc exposure, and two broken legs. Doctors tell us that his recovery is assured, and he has been placed in a regen pod to heal.

 

[Grav_Moped]

242-2507 Gateway News Service- Gas Tank

Good story, implausibly poor workplace safety practices.

Checking for pressure ahead of time should have been standard procedure, and pressure of any sort in a tank to be cut up would be a work-stopper.

Just means foul play is involved...

 

[Murph]

There is always the losing bidder....

 

[Badenov]

Good story, implausibly poor workplace safety practices.Mr

Checking for pressure ahead of time should have been standard procedure, and pressure of any sort in a tank to be cut up would be a work-stopper.

Just means foul play is involved...

I suspect the pressure guage had been tampered with to give a false indication of no pressure. Mind you, the worker should have opened any closures in case the heat from cutting caused any sort of residual to build, and that would have vented the tank, too. I've forgotten almost all of what little I ever knew about gas-free engineering, but this was a comedy of errors. So yeah, when Mr. Model-Higgins gets out of the hospital, it will probably not go well for him.

 

[Murph]

244-2507 Gateway News Service- Gas Tank

Orbital Mechanics Inc, the losing bidder in the Gas Tank station #1 project have filed a complaint with the System Manger citing that the winning bidder, New Texas Orbital Construction has failed to live up to the contract terms, especially in the area of safety for workers, and therefore the contract needs to be re-bid and New Texas Orbital Construction banned from the bidding process.

Orbital Mechanics cites the several safety issues that have been encountered, some of which New Texas Orbital Construction have claimed appear to be intentional sabotage to cause problems with the contract. NTOC has filed a counter to this citing what they think are issues of intentional sabotage, although they admit that they cannot prove that it is intentional. The latest episode where the fuel tank not only was full of highly pressurized gas, but all computer and gauge readings showed the tank was empty are evidence of sabotage by parties unknown.

The System Manager has requested assistance from the New Texas Rangers, Space Investigations branch in looking into this latest incident. The competition for the contract to dismantle Station #1 and potentially Station #2 has been heated, with NTOC winning by a small margin over Orbital Mechanics, Inc. The Thevins Corporation also placed a losing bid for this contract as well as Gateway Construction Services.

The System Manager said at this time it appears, pending a full scale investigation, that it was sloppy work on the part of the safety managers at NTOC who failed to determine if the tank had been depressurized and the entries into the computers show that the tank had been emptied a week prior to the accident. But, he stated, he was not going to rule out the possibility of an intentional cause of the accident until such time as the New Texas Rangers have had a chance to look over things. But in the meantime he was going to order work suspended on the project, and all evidence preserved.

NTOC filed a protest since their contract has a non-completion clause which if the work extends past the grace period they will be fined for each day of non completion of the work. Negotiations are ongoing to see if the grace period can be extended to cover this ordered shut down of work. Orbital Mechanics has protested since NTOC is already behind schedule on the project.

 

[Murph]

250-2507 Gateway News Service- Ashmodai

A level one alert was called this morning as a large chunk of orbital debris was spotted entering the atmosphere. Space defense command was able to destroy the largest portion of the debris, with the estimated 400 meter in diameter rock being blasted into much smaller portions which mostly burned up before striking the ground.

Some smaller portions of the body did hit off shore and so a Tsunami warning was issued for all coastal areas. One portion did strike in the Satan's footstool area, and there is concern that the magma chamber of the Hellsbridge volcano is showing signs of eruption due to this strike. All settlements in the are are being requested to evacuate, along with those in the way of the pyroclastic flows or mud flow areas. As a result of the strike there have been several large tremors in the 4-6 range which have caused damage to structures.

An estimated 12,000 persons are having to be evacuated until such time as the government is able to determine that the volcano is not likely to erupt. Also all mining operations in the region have been ordered to be secured, and evacuated until the situation has resolved itself. All space to ground travel has been diverted to flight path Gamma until the situation has resolved itself.

 

[Diveguy]

242-2507 Gateway News Service- Gas Tank

An explosion occurred at one of the fuel storage tanks at Orbital Station #1 which was being dismantled. A worker was using a laser cutter to disassemble one of the remaining fuel storage tanks, and apparently the storage tank had been used unknowingly to store an explosive mixture of gasses which exploded when the laser cut through the wall of the tank. The tank ripped itself loose from the structure and proceeded on an exceptionally erratic course which finally ceased when the gas had run out.

The high pressure container was listed as empty in the records, but it appears that a software oversight in data entry had been made, and the cylinder which contained 5,000 tons of high pressure gas was full. The worker was severely injured, but a nearby work pod was able to grab him before he drifted into space.

His suit was torn, but the self sealing feature of the heavy work suit sealed the rip long enough for rescue crews to arrive and get him into a rescue pod. The large gas tank damaged three other work pods, one work ship, and the station, also imparting a momentum that required a deep space tug to arrest. The cylinder was captured after a short time.

Station #1 is being dismantled to make way for the new station which is being constructed nearby. The new station will have increased capabilities as well as being a larger and more modern facility. The old station is a relic of the initial settlement of the sector, and was in desperate need of upgrade. A spokesman for New Texas Orbital Construction, Inc said that they were now going back over all records to ensure that the remaining eleven fuel tanks were completely drained.

The errant cylinder did not impact any of the new construction of Station #1 in its flight across the system. However debris from the station has escaped and could pose a minor hazard to navigation, so all ships in the area are warned to be aware of the potential for damage from loose debris.

The worker, Mr. Walter Model-Higgins is listed at Station #2 infirmary as in stable condition, suffering from vacc exposure, and two broken legs. Doctors tell us that his recovery is assured, and he has been placed in a regen pod to heal.

Interesting real-world info. In the U.S. (can't speak to other nations) a freight rail tanker car is considered "empty" on a manifest if it has less than 10% of volume of material.

These cars hold about 34,000 gallons of material.

Meaning they could have up to 3,400 gallons of "Whatever" and be labeled as empty for all concerned.

In 2005 in Texarkana, Texas one such rail car had been transporting propylene - subsequent to a derailment this tanker was punctured and leaked the gas into the environment. Upon finding an ignition source it then exploded in a VERY large fireball. Fortunately, there was only one fatality.

So, it's certainly plausible for a similar situation to occur in the far future. HAZMAT shipping, storage and the like will always have some residual and secondary concerns.