EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS

SUMMARY

Major accident hazard pipelines transport hazardous fluids, such as natural gas, that have the potential to harm people in the vicinity in the event of a release from a pipeline failure. Major accident hazard pipelines are defined under the Pipelines Safety Regulations (1996). Dutyholders must implement effective control measures to prevent pipeline failure. Land-use planning law is an important extra precaution to limit the potential risk to the public. HSE is a statutory consultee for proposed land-use developments. HSE sets land-use planning zones and provides advice to local planning authorities on proposed developments within these zones. HSE uses a quantified risk assessment (QRA) approach as part of its decision making. The QRA uses mathematical models of potential hazards and their consequences. HSE has an ongoing research programme to assess the suitability of these models.

A jet fire is one of the potential hazards for releases from pipelines transporting flammable substances. This report and RR1188 (2022) describe research on the suitability of jet fire mathematical models for use by HSE to estimate the physical dimensions of potential fires. This report describes a review of the scientific literature done as the first stage of the research. The review did not identify any single model that would be suitable for the range of scenarios and substances that HSE models. The review identified models that could potentially be implemented by HSE to more accurately represent the physics of jet fires. RR1188 describes the second stage of this research to consider the performance of these models. These findings are being used to inform assessment of the suitability of the jet fire models that HSE currently (2022) uses and whether updates would be beneficial. The report will be of interest to specialists in risk modelling for major hazards.

This Research Report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive. Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.