Safety of gas pipelines and the problem of environmental protection

Abstract

The paper focuses on the problems of environmental protection that seem to be among the most urgent ones around the world. There is no such a sphere of productive activity of an individual which would not influence the environment without changing its condition, which is likely to lead to destruction of its dynamic balance. Recent studies show that the main oil and gas pipeline service is regarded as a potential source of environmental pollution by oil products. Accidents on main gas pipelines cause enormous damage, leading to massive pollution of water reservoirs and onshore. The key reasons for it are pipeline long run life, depreciation and, as a result, a steady tendency of increase in the number of accidents with serious social, ecological and economic consequences [4]. The scientific and methodological base of quantitative risk emergency assessment is necessary for the choice of adequate measures aimed at prevention of catastrophic crashes and accidents. In case of the successful solution to this problem it seems vital that interests of environment protection be integrated into the area of adoption of the engineering decisions making it possible to minimize the consequences of negative impacts in the most rational (least costly) ways. In these conditions the analysis of environmental risks of main gas pipelines becomes especially urgent.