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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Preparing for LNG by Rail Tank Car: A Readiness Review. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26719.
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Committee for a Study on the Safe Transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas by Railroad Tank Car Transportation Research Board Preparing for LNG by Rail Tank Car A Readiness Review Consensus Study Report

Transportation Research Board Special Report 345 Subscriber Categories: Railroads; energy; research (about research); administration and management Transportation Research Board publications are available by ordering individual publications directly from the TRB Business Office, through the Internet at www.TRB.org or nationalacademies.org/trb, or by annual subscription through organizational or individual affiliation with TRB. Affiliates and library subscribers are eligible for substantial discounts. For further information, contact the Transportation Research Board Business Office, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001 (telephone 202-334-3213; fax 202-334-2519; or e-mail TRBsales@nas.edu). Copyright 2022 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and National Academies Press and the graphical logos for each are all trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication was reviewed by a group other than the authors according to the procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine. This study was sponsored by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-69384-4 International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-69384-5 Digital Object Identifier: http://doi.org/10.17226/26719 Library of Congress Control Number: 2022946406

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president. The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org. The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major programs of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence- based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of transportation. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state departments of transportation, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.trb.org.

Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task. Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies. Rapid Expert Consultations published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are authored by subject-matter experts on narrowly focused topics that can be supported by a body of evidence. The discussions contained in rapid expert consultations are considered those of the authors and do not contain policy recommendations. Rapid expert consultations are reviewed by the institution before release. For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.

v COMMITTEE FOR A STUDY ON THE SAFE TRANSPORTATION OF LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS BY RAILROAD TANK CAR Craig E. Philip (NAE), Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, Chair H. Norman Abramson (NAE), Southwest Research Institute (retired), San Antonio, TX Nii Attoh-Okine, University of Maryland, College Park Amos A. Avidan (NAE), Bechtel Corporation (retired), Houston, TX Christina M. Baxter, Emergency Response TIPS, LLC, Melbourne Beach, FL Lisa M. Bendixen, ICF International, Inc., Fairfax, VA Jorge A. Carrasco, Ambipar Response US, Katy, TX Anay Luketa, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM Gregory G. Noll, South Central Task Force, Lancaster, PA Dimitris Rizos, University of South Carolina, Columbia William (Bill) C. Shust, Objective Engineers Inc., Naperville, IL Patrick J. Student, Gunnison, LLC, Elkhorn, NE Transportation Research Board, Consensus and Advisory Studies Staff Micah D. Himmel, Study Director Thomas R. Menzies, Jr., Director Brittany Bishop, Program Officer David O. Willauer, Senior Program Officer Timothy B. Marflak, Program Coordinator Claudia Sauls, Program Coordinator Consultant Sarah Jo Peterson, 23 Urban Strategies, LLC NOTE: See Appendix C, Disclosure of Unavoidable Conflicts of Interest.

vii Natural gas production in the United States has increased dramatically over the past two decades. While the nation’s transmission pipelines are generally the most efficient means of transporting natural gas over long distances, compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been transported by marine vessel and truck for decades. In 2017, U.S. freight railroads petitioned the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT’s) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to transport LNG by rail in tank cars. In response, PHMSA initiated a rule- making in 2019 to allow bulk transportation of LNG by an existing type of tank car used for cryogenic liquids, the DOT-113. In July 2020, PHMSA issued a final rule allowing these movements. The rule contained several safety requirements, including enhancements to the steel used in the outer tank of the DOT-113, remote monitoring of the pressure and location of the tank car, and risk assessments to evaluate safety and security. In the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, Congress directed PHMSA to commission a study by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to examine the safety of transporting LNG by rail. To conduct the study, TRB convened a committee of experts whose fields include railroad engineering, safety, and operations; railway simulation; track and equipment failure analysis; accident investigation; heavy equipment full- scale testing; hazardous materials safety regulation; hazardous materials transportation, packaging, and safe handling; LNG behavior; state and local emergency management; and risk analysis. Biographical information Preface

viii PREFACE on the 12 committee members, who served uncompensated in the public interest, appears at the end of the report. The study was divided into two phases, each producing a report. In the first phase, the committee reviewed the work and plans of an interagency task force of PHMSA and the Federal Railroad Administration that was charged with conducting research, gathering data, and undertaking testing to gain a better understanding of the risks of transporting LNG by rail and options for mitigating them. The findings from the first phase of the study were reported in June 2021 in Preparing for LNG by Rail Tank Car: A Review of a U.S. DOT Safety Research, Testing, and Analysis Initiative.1 This report presents the results of the study’s second phase in which the committee was charged with conducting a broader review of the hazard characteristics of LNG and the safety record of LNG shipments when trans- ported by other modes. The goal of this phase was to identify areas where additional investigation, analysis, and monitoring may be warranted so that industry and regulators can better assess LNG’s risks in rail transportation and make choices about how best to manage those risks. The full study charge is presented and discussed in Chapter 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The committee thanks the many individuals who contributed to its work. The PHMSA liaison for the study was Michael Klem, who provided con- tract oversight and handled information requests from the committee. The committee was briefed by or received information from the following: William S. Schoonover and Eamonn Patrick, PHMSA; Larry Jantzen, City of Austin Fire Department; Gregory Milewski, Consultant; Michael Rat- ner, Congressional Research Service; Samer Mosis, Global LNG Analytics, S&P Global Platts; Pedro Santos, CNGmotive; Scott Nason, Rail & ISO Markets, Chart Industries; A. D. McKisic, Trinity Rail; Jeff Moller and Robert Fronczak, Association of American Railroads; Paul Bomgardner, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; Bill Reese, Commercial Ve- hicle Safety Alliance; Dan Wright, Kenan Advantage Group; CAPT Daniel Cost, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters; Aditya Aggarwal, ABS Global Gas Solutions; Andrew Kohout, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Paul Ruesch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5; Ron Hassan, International Association of Fire Fighters; Tim Gablehouse, National As- sociation of SARA Title III Program Officials; Thomas Farmer, Association of American Railroads; Trey Morrison and Ryan Hart, Exponent; Andrew 1 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Preparing for LNG by Rail Tank Car: A Review of a U.S. DOT Safety Research, Testing, and Analysis Initiative (Wash- ington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2021), https://doi.org/10.17226/26221.

PREFACE ix Kohout, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Ashley T. Madray, LNG Refrigerants, Gas Innovations; Todd Treichel, Association of American Railroads Tank Car Safety Project; John Tunna, Federal Railroad Admin- istration Office of Research, Development and Technology (retired); Dave Anderson, Elbow River Marketing; Michael Iden, Tier 5 Locomotive LLC; Erica Bernstein, Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response; Manuel “Manny” Ehrlich, RESPONDER, LLC; and Fred Millar, independent consultant. Micah D. Himmel directed the study and assisted the study committee in the preparation of this report along with Brittany Bishop, Sarah Jo Pe- terson, and David O. Willauer. Thomas R. Menzies, Jr., provided oversight management and Timothy B. Marflak and Claudia Sauls provided admin- istrative and logistical support in addition to assisting with preparing the report for publication. The report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this indepen- dent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectiv- ity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. Karen Febey managed the review process. The committee thanks the following individuals for their review of this report: Grady Cothen, Federal Railroad Administration (retired); Eric Geb- hardt, Wabtec Corporation; Bo Barker Jørgensen, Aarhus University; Mel- vin Kanninen, MFK Consulting Services; John Samuels, Revenue Variable Engineering, LLC; Jo Strang, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association; Todd Treichel, Railway Supply Institute-American Associa- tion of Railroads; and Katherine Turnbull, Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive com- ments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report, nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Chris T. Hendrickson (National Academy of Engineering), Carnegie Mellon University (emeri- tus), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Roger McCarthy (National Academy of Engineering), McCarthy Engineering, Palo Alto, California. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Re- sponsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

xi Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1 INTRODUCTION 5 Study Origin, 8 Phase 2 Study Approach, 10 Report Organization, 12 2 BACKGROUND ON LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS SHIPPING AND FACILITIES 13 Overview of LNG Facilities, 13 Experience Shipping LNG by Rail, 16 LNG Containers, 18 Natural Gas and LNG Commodity Flows, 21 Factors Influencing the Future Demand for LNG by Tank Car, 23 Summary, 26 3 LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS’S HAZARDOUS CRYOGENIC AND FLAMMABLE PROPERTIES 27 What Is Liquefied Natural Gas?, 27 LNG Properties That Create Hazards, 29 Properties in Comparison with Other Flammable and Cryogenic Materials Transported by Rail, 32 Summary, 36

xii CONTENTS 4 CRYOGENIC TANK CARS AND LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS HAZARDS 37 Design Features of Cryogenic Packaging and Tank Cars, 37 Upgrades to the DOT-113 for LNG, 44 Hazard Scenarios When Transporting LNG in Tank Cars, 44 Summary, 50 5 TRANSPORTATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS AND PERFORMANCE 53 Overview of Safety Assurance for Rail Transportation of Hazardous Materials, 54 Special Conditions: The Case of High-Hazard Flammable Trains, 59 Special Conditions for Moving LNG by Rail, 61 Safety Record of Transporting LNG and Other Cryogenic and Flammable Materials, 64 LNG by Rail in Japan, 68 Summary, 69 6 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE 71 LNG Challenges for Emergency Response, 71 Emergency Planning and Preparedness, 73 Emergency Response, 76 LNG Training, 76 Summary, 79 7 SUMMARY ASSESSMENT AND ADVICE 81 Summary of Findings, 83 Recommendations, 86 APPENDIXES A Liquefied Natural Gas Safety Assurance for Trucking and Maritime Transport 89 B Study Committee Biographical Information 109 C Disclosure of Unavoidable Conflicts of Interest 117

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Shipping liquefied natural gas (LNG) by rail tank car is a viable mode in U.S. regions where the natural gas pipeline network is limited. Before the first bulk shipment of LNG by rail tank car, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends a review of the research and testing done so far on safety assurance, especially for the design of the tank car, and follow up with activities if warranted.

TRB Special Report 345: Preparing for LNG by Rail Tank Car: A Readiness Review, from TRB and NASEM, focuses on safe train operations, support for emergency responders, and design features of the new cryogenic tank car, including pressure relief devices, insulation, and the type of outer tank steel.

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