Louisiana regulators have established new rules for oilfield tank batteries after an explosion killed a 14-year-old girl, and plan to identify all such storage tanks across the state to encourage compliance, reports the Associated Press.
The state Department of Natural Resources cited the February death of Zalee Day-Smith when announcing the safety measures last week.
The new rules require operators to surround sites with fences at least 4 feet high, with a gate that’s locked when the sites are unattended. Tank hatches have to be securely sealed when unmanned, unless they’re part of a pressure relief system, and signs have to note the hazards of the tanks.
These regulations apply to sites within 500 feet of a highway or a home, 1,000 feet of a school or church, or anywhere within the limits of a city, town or village. Read the entire story.
