17.2.1 General
There is no doubt that lightning strikes that hit storage or process vessels containing
flammable materials can cause devastating accidents at refineries, bulk plants, processing
sites and other facilities. Some of the registered accidents are listed in the
references [3–7].
Chang and Lin [7] conducted a review of 242 accidents involving storage tanks
that have occurred in industrial facilities since 1960. It was shown that 74 per cent
of accidents took place in petroleum refineries, oil terminals or while in storage.
Fire and explosions account for 85 per cent of these accidents and 80 of them
(33 per cent) were lightning-related. Table 17.1 shows the percentage of lightningrelated
accidents in tanks.
It is well known that a small accident in installations with a flammable and hazardous
chemicals content may lead to million-dollar property loss, some days of
production interruptions and, in the worst case, loss of life.
There are two main mechanisms by which these lightning-related accidents may
have occurred: (i) a direct strike and (ii) indirect or nearby strikes. Direct strikes
account for the flow of a large amount of lightning current from the point of incidence
through the tank body and towards the earth system. In contrast, the occurrence of
lightning nearby, which is highly probable, may lead to dangerous potential differences
between different parts of the tank.
Table 17.1 Lightning-related accidents involving tanks over the last 40 years
(adapted from Reference 7)