1 00:00:10,104 --> 00:00:11,270 GUEST SPEAKER: Good morning. 2 00:00:11,270 --> 00:00:12,580 Thank you for inviting me here today 3 00:00:12,580 --> 00:00:14,620 to speak to you about the liquefied natural gas 4 00:00:14,620 --> 00:00:16,630 facility in Boston Harbor. 5 00:00:16,630 --> 00:00:19,300 Based on my experience as director of the Boston Harbor 6 00:00:19,300 --> 00:00:22,690 Associates, I believe that the risks of this LNG facility 7 00:00:22,690 --> 00:00:25,000 are too high and that a new risk assessment 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,940 is needed to properly evaluate these risks. 9 00:00:27,940 --> 00:00:29,440 This morning I'd like to tell you 10 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:31,660 about the problems with the current risk assessment 11 00:00:31,660 --> 00:00:33,940 and then provide my recommendations for a new risk 12 00:00:33,940 --> 00:00:37,030 assessment going forward. 13 00:00:37,030 --> 00:00:41,340 As you know LNG has a very-- 14 00:00:41,340 --> 00:00:42,940 it comes with the possibility of a gas 15 00:00:42,940 --> 00:00:46,480 leak, which could lead to a fire and a large explosion. 16 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:48,880 Although this happening is fairly unlikely, 17 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:51,490 the severity of the damages that would happen if it did occur 18 00:00:51,490 --> 00:00:53,820 would be extremely large. 19 00:00:53,820 --> 00:00:55,690 And risks are greater when LNG is 20 00:00:55,690 --> 00:00:58,727 transported through the water. 21 00:00:58,727 --> 00:01:01,060 If a spill occurs in water, it would spread more quickly 22 00:01:01,060 --> 00:01:02,950 and be more difficult to contain. 23 00:01:02,950 --> 00:01:06,549 So we can expect that if a spill did happen in Boston Harbor, 24 00:01:06,549 --> 00:01:08,090 it would be very difficult to manage. 25 00:01:08,090 --> 00:01:09,964 It would quickly spread to the Harbor Islands 26 00:01:09,964 --> 00:01:14,440 and also around the city, and could cause a large explosion 27 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,320 that would not only have major damage on infrastructure 28 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:19,300 and property, but also could cause 29 00:01:19,300 --> 00:01:22,119 a major loss of human life. 30 00:01:22,119 --> 00:01:24,160 I know that you're all well aware of these risks, 31 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,618 but you probably are assuming that the risk assessment that 32 00:01:26,618 --> 00:01:28,870 was done when the facility was built-- 33 00:01:28,870 --> 00:01:32,560 several decades ago-- accurately takes into account these risks. 34 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:34,810 However, I believe that there are major problems 35 00:01:34,810 --> 00:01:37,246 with that risk assessment. 36 00:01:37,246 --> 00:01:38,620 First of all, the risk assessment 37 00:01:38,620 --> 00:01:42,010 assumes that everything possible to manage these risks 38 00:01:42,010 --> 00:01:43,030 is being done. 39 00:01:43,030 --> 00:01:47,150 It doesn't leave any possibility for human error or negligence, 40 00:01:47,150 --> 00:01:49,810 or any mistakes happening. 41 00:01:49,810 --> 00:01:51,940 However, there's very little evaluation 42 00:01:51,940 --> 00:01:54,460 to ensure that all of these safety measures 43 00:01:54,460 --> 00:01:56,720 are being taken 100% of the time. 44 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,080 There's site visits by the regulatory agency 45 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:00,940 only several times a year, and these 46 00:02:00,940 --> 00:02:03,310 are announced ahead of time. 47 00:02:03,310 --> 00:02:06,010 So they don't accurately reflect whether the safety measures are 48 00:02:06,010 --> 00:02:08,350 being taken day in and day out. 49 00:02:08,350 --> 00:02:09,789 We know that human error can lead 50 00:02:09,789 --> 00:02:11,560 to major industrial accidents. 51 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,440 Just look at the case of Three Mile Island, where 52 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,680 the accident was made worse by inadequate training 53 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,670 and the plant operators failing to respond to the problem 54 00:02:21,670 --> 00:02:24,680 as it was unfolding and making the problem worse. 55 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,990 So given that we know that human error and negligence can 56 00:02:28,990 --> 00:02:31,810 lead to major accident, I'd like to propose a new risk 57 00:02:31,810 --> 00:02:33,700 assessment that takes these into account. 58 00:02:36,370 --> 00:02:38,230 My recommendation for a new risk assessment 59 00:02:38,230 --> 00:02:41,560 follows a 2-step process, in which the estimation of risk 60 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,570 is separate from the decision making process. 61 00:02:44,570 --> 00:02:46,700 So in the first step, the government-- 62 00:02:46,700 --> 00:02:48,760 all of your respective agencies-- 63 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:50,560 with input from the public, would 64 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,590 determine what level of risk it is willing to accept. 65 00:02:53,590 --> 00:02:59,290 For example, is it willing to accept some water pollution 66 00:02:59,290 --> 00:02:59,860 permanently? 67 00:02:59,860 --> 00:03:01,360 What about property damage? 68 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:03,070 What about loss of life? 69 00:03:03,070 --> 00:03:06,992 What level of risk can you, as a society, tolerate? 70 00:03:06,992 --> 00:03:08,950 It's very important that you involve the public 71 00:03:08,950 --> 00:03:12,324 in determining the level of risk that you're willing to accept. 72 00:03:12,324 --> 00:03:14,740 Not only will this help them feel like they have ownership 73 00:03:14,740 --> 00:03:17,350 in the decision that effects their home, 74 00:03:17,350 --> 00:03:21,610 but it will also help them think about the likelihood of risk 75 00:03:21,610 --> 00:03:23,790 and whether this technology is appropriate. 76 00:03:23,790 --> 00:03:25,990 While I'm sure that they're not necessarily scared 77 00:03:25,990 --> 00:03:28,540 about the risks, but rather that they understand what 78 00:03:28,540 --> 00:03:31,670 might happen with this technology. 79 00:03:31,670 --> 00:03:33,640 So after you've determined what level of risk 80 00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:36,280 you, as a society, are willing to accept, 81 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:38,620 I would recommend that you hire a group of scientists 82 00:03:38,620 --> 00:03:40,780 to conduct the risk assessment itself, 83 00:03:40,780 --> 00:03:43,160 and to figure out both the harms from a gas 84 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:47,794 leak that are possible and the likelihood of this occurring. 85 00:03:47,794 --> 00:03:49,210 In addition, it's really important 86 00:03:49,210 --> 00:03:50,960 that as part of this risk assessment, 87 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:53,780 you assume that some degree of human error will occur 88 00:03:53,780 --> 00:03:56,750 and that safety measures will not be followed all the time. 89 00:03:56,750 --> 00:03:59,930 The scientists can estimate this based on accidents at other LNG 90 00:03:59,930 --> 00:04:02,480 facilities around the world, and what led to these accidents, 91 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,940 and whether or not safety measures were 92 00:04:04,940 --> 00:04:07,235 being followed there. 93 00:04:07,235 --> 00:04:09,590 After the risk assessment is completed, 94 00:04:09,590 --> 00:04:11,990 the government can look at the results 95 00:04:11,990 --> 00:04:14,870 and decide whether it meets the previously set determination 96 00:04:14,870 --> 00:04:18,380 of risk that the society is willing to accept. 97 00:04:18,380 --> 00:04:22,390 And if it does, to go forward and keep the facility open, 98 00:04:22,390 --> 00:04:25,940 and if not, close the facility. 99 00:04:25,940 --> 00:04:29,330 One important thing to note is that if you 100 00:04:29,330 --> 00:04:31,220 do decide to keep the facility open, 101 00:04:31,220 --> 00:04:33,470 it's very important that there is a mechanism in place 102 00:04:33,470 --> 00:04:36,590 for regular monitoring of safety at the plant, 103 00:04:36,590 --> 00:04:38,180 and to ensure that all of the safety 104 00:04:38,180 --> 00:04:40,429 measures that were assumed and the risk assessment are 105 00:04:40,429 --> 00:04:43,880 actually being followed. 106 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,280 Finally, it's very important to compare the alternatives. 107 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:50,280 LNG, natural gas, is a major source of energy, 108 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:52,890 especially for heating, in the Boston area. 109 00:04:52,890 --> 00:04:55,490 And if it's found too risky, we need to replace this facility 110 00:04:55,490 --> 00:04:57,240 with another source of energy. 111 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:58,940 So whether that comes from natural gas 112 00:04:58,940 --> 00:05:02,210 through pipelines, or oil heating, 113 00:05:02,210 --> 00:05:04,070 or some kind of renewable energy, 114 00:05:04,070 --> 00:05:06,507 all of these energy sources have some kind of risk. 115 00:05:06,507 --> 00:05:08,840 So it's important to measure the risks of those as well, 116 00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:12,500 and make sure that we're not replacing the LNG 117 00:05:12,500 --> 00:05:15,050 with something even riskier. 118 00:05:15,050 --> 00:05:18,290 So to conclude, I believe that the risks of this LNG 119 00:05:18,290 --> 00:05:21,290 facility in Boston Harbor are very high, 120 00:05:21,290 --> 00:05:23,990 and that the current risk assessment is inadequate. 121 00:05:23,990 --> 00:05:26,510 I hope you'll follow my recommendations for a new risk 122 00:05:26,510 --> 00:05:29,000 assessment that better takes into account both 123 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,670 the dangers of this technology and the level of risk 124 00:05:31,670 --> 00:05:33,940 that society is willing to accept. 125 00:05:33,940 --> 00:05:35,670 Thank you.