At 7:54 on March 13th, a suspected gas leak caused an explosion accident at a business in Yanjiao Town, Hebei Province, resulting in 7 deaths and 27 injuries. Regarding the question of whether the accident was caused by a gas leak from the user's side, Liu Fulai, the head of the expert team for the accident investigation, revealed that the leak occurred in the pipeline during transportation. The specific cause of the accident is currently under investigation.

It is reported that Yanjiao Town opened up pipeline gas earlier and has a complex underground pipeline network. Some of the older pipelines have been in use for over 20 years, with the deepest ones buried 12 meters underground.

In 2023, how many gas accidents occurred nationwide?

The analysis report published by the Chinese core journal "Gas & Heat" revealed that in 2023, a total of 612 domestic gas accidents reported by the media were collected, resulting in 77 deaths and 434 injuries. Among them, there were 4 major accidents and 1 extremely serious accident.

What are the causes of these natural gas accidents?

Among the verified causes of natural gas pipeline accidents in 2023, the top three reasons are third-party construction damage, pipeline corrosion leakage, and geological disasters. Among them, accidents caused by third-party construction damage account for the highest proportion, reaching 85.2%, an increase of nearly 12% compared to the previous year.

How can urban gas safety be effectively protected?

In densely populated areas and high-consequence zones, if leaks occur in urban gas pipelines and cannot be detected promptly, continuous leakage of natural gas will occur, potentially leading to explosive accidents. This is particularly true for sections of pipelines passing through railways, highways, and other areas, where casualties and damage to public facilities are highly likely. Therefore, fixed reflective laser gas telemetry can be used to conduct real-time, long-distance active detection of pressure and secondary high-pressure pipelines on urban ground surfaces, as well as medium-pressure trunk pipelines in densely populated areas. This approach allows for the early detection of minor leaks, timely warnings, and longer emergency response time, effectively preventing minor leaks from developing into major leaks and causing serious accidents.

In addition to the use of fixed scanning laser gas telemetry, improving inspection efficiency can also effectively prevent accidents. For daily inspections, a vehicle-mounted laser inspection system can be used for regular patrols. The inspection vehicle can reach speeds of up to 50km/h, instantly detecting gas leakage data and accurately locating it through the Beidou/GPS system. Combined with the GIS system, inspection data (including the presence of leaks, leak concentration, and leak location) can be transmitted to the monitoring center in real-time through a wireless network. This ensures that any potential hazards are promptly identified and addressed, further enhancing urban gas safety.

For narrow alleys, old residential areas, and other areas where inspection vehicles have difficulty accessing, an electric bike-mounted laser inspection system can be used. With a cruising speed of 20km/h, it can detect designated points and locate areas of leakage, significantly reducing inspection time and greatly improving the efficiency of daily inspections, maintenance, and emergency repairs.

For real-time online monitoring of newly constructed gas pipelines, a passive fiber-optic laser leak detection system can be utilized. This system consists of a main unit (laser control unit, spectral analysis unit), optical sensing terminals, and a monitoring platform. Its significant advantage lies in the fact that the optical sensing terminals used for on-site monitoring require no power supply, fully meeting the requirement that online monitoring equipment cannot be powered in underground pipeline scenarios.