Liquified natural gas (LNG) in pressurized and insulated railroad tanker cars will be rolling through Lehigh County if, according to information provided by Commissioner Bob Elbich, the Delaware River Basin Commission gives the green light for a plan to build a new dock from which railroad tanker cars filled with LNG will be emptied into ocean-going ships.

Lehigh County Commissioners 12 Aug. voted 8-0 (Commissioner Nate Brown was absent from the online meeting) to approve a non-binding resolution that asks the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to disapprove of the project slated to be built in Gibbstown, N.J. directly across the river from the Philadelphia International Airport.

New Fortress Energy is planning the overland transport of LNG (also known as liquid methane) by truck on public highways and by rail car on existing railways from a yet-to-be-completed liquefaction plant in Wyalusing (northwest of Scranton) to a proposed LNG export terminal in Gibbstown.

Eblich, an engineer with experience in LNG, sounded the warning. He said he fears construction of the new dock will set the groundwork for potential catastrophe to local communities caused by the up-surge in thousands of LNG-laden rail cars and highway-bound tanker trucks rolling through local towns.

Elbich’s resolution also wants the (DRBC) “to ensure public safety by taking all actions necessary to effectively control the transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas through Lehigh County by truck and/or by rail, provide appropriate emergency response training and resources for Lehigh County agencies, and to conduct a public health and safety analysis, a quantitative risk assessment, and a comprehensive environmental review of the potential impacts to Lehigh County communities.”

“LNG is natural gas that has been chilled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit in a process that removes water, carbon dioxide and other compounds, leaving mostly methane in a fluid that takes up less than 1/600th the space it previously occupied as a gas,” according to Jennifer H. Dlouhy and quoted in Fortune.com.

LNG does not burn on its own, and it can’t ignite in its liquefied state. The risk comes if a tank car ruptured and LNG was exposed to the air, triggering the LNG to rapidly convert back into a flammable gas and evaporate,” said Dlouhy.

While the probability of an LNG-loaded rail car exploding is low, it is not unheard of. Such an incident is capable of producing a thermobaric explosion, which is a type of explosion used by the military to destroy buildings and bunkers from the inside out.

In other words, an explosive gas is forced inside these structures and then ignited, producing the effect of blowing something up from the inside. Thermobaric explosions can also asphyxiate people in tunnels and caves by burning all of the oxygen from the air they breathe.

A thermobaric explosion in the United Kingdom in 2005 produced a blast that woke people up 93 miles away.

According to a 1980 Department of Energy risk assessment, “about two-thirds of the total propane movements [in the U.S.] are by tank truck, while roughly three percent of total movements are by rail tank car. The remainder of the shipments are made primarily by pipelines.”

According to Elbich, 5 million gallons of LNG could be sent through Allentown and other local communities if the Delaware River port is built. That could equal 166 railroad tanker cars per day that would roll along a route that includes Walnutport, Northampton, Catasauqua, Allentown, Emmaus, Macungie and Alburtis on the way to the port across the river from Philadelphia.

The Environment and Energy Studies Institute reported that in 2019, the U.S. Department of Transportation released a rule change proposal that would loosen the hazardous materials Regulations for the bulk transport of refrigerated liquid methane, or LNG, by rail tank car. DOT argues that regulatory changes are needed to accommodate the increase in extraction of methane and the need to move it to markets for export.

According to Dlouhy, writing in Fortune.com, “Independent experts on railway safety, such as Fred Millar, warn that such changes would ‘pose an unprecedented new level of risk for American cities,’ and are being pursued hastily ‘because of enormous pressure to sell our fracked gas.’”

In the article, Millar warns, “LNG is especially hazardous because of its ability to easily warm to a vigorous boil, forming a flammable gas cloud that can erupt into an unquenchable fire.” A 1944 explosion in Cleveland killed more than 100 people after liquefied natural gas from an East Ohio Gas Co. storage tank seeped into the city’s sewer system and ignited, leveling homes and businesses across several city blocks, he said.

However, according to Dlouhy, “supporters of rail transport [of LNG] stress that natural gas dissipates rapidly and has such a narrow ignition window it is only able to ignite when mixed with air at a ratio of about 5 to 15 percent, unlike other flammable materials carried by rail. LNG won’t dissolve in water and, if spilled, generally evaporates, leaving no residue behind.”

According to The Environment and Energy Studies, in response to industry lobbying, the Trump administration issued an Executive Order in April 2019 that directed DOT to change existing regulations to allow LNG to be shipped in railcars.