Scenario: Blow up Gasoline Tank FarmsScenario Either at one site or at multiple sites across the country, blow up gasoline storage tanks. Description Few things are as spectacular as a gasoline storage tank fire. Once a tank containing millions of gallons of gasoline starts burning, it is something that gets everyone's attention for miles around. A terrorist might start a fire in a storage tank for several reasons:
If several tanks in a dense tank farm could be lit, it might be possible to create a ripple effect where the burning tanks light other tanks in the farm. Many airports have large above-ground fuel storage facilities. For example, Denver's airport stores up to 50 million gallons of jet fuel on site. All 18 tanks are in close proximity to one another. Hitting an airport's fuel facilities would have the advantage of closing the airport for a significant period of time. Damage Potential A tank fire would destroy the tank and the gasoline in it. The cost of replacement would be on the order of tens of millions of dollars. If fire fighters are fully involved with the tank fire and other fires break out in other parts of the city, it would be hard to respond to those fires, and there could be significant financial losses. Shutting down one or more airports would have a huge effect on the air transportation system. Hitting a large number of tanks in a single large city might create a situation severe enough to shut down the city for a period of time. For example, imagine the effect on Los Angeles, Washington DC or Atlanta. Economic losses could be extreme from such a shutdown. Potential Solutions As mentioned in other oil scenarios, eliminating our dependence on oil (by switching to a different energy infrastructure) would decrease our vulnerability to attack like this significantly. Making it harder to get to tank farms and protecting them with distance is probably the only way to deter a terrorist. Right now many tank farms are conveniently located right beside major roadways, protected only by a chain link fence. A passing motorist could shoot a tank or throw a bomb without even stopping. The solution to this sort of access is to locate tank farms well away from roads, surround them with a heavy concrete barrier that is at a significant distance from the tanks (perhaps 2,000 feet), and then guard the no-mans-land between the barrier and the tanks. A distance like this might not be enough to protect against things like rocket-launched grenades and shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles. The assumption is that tank farms would be in remote areas, perhaps with an outer perimeter, that would protect against these types of attack as well. The problem with this approach is that, currently, tank farms are often located in highly-populated areas. Moving them or securing their perimeters would be expensive. Tank farms are like the Alaska pipeline -- they make sense in an environment free of terrorism, but if terrorism is a threat then they represent a significant risk. Another approach would be to install systems that would allow tanks to become self-extinguishing. That would increase their safety significantly. Related Links
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