At 17:00 on July 3rd, the Management Committee of the Nanyang High-tech Zone issued a notice stating that at 12:47, a gas explosion accident occurred in a store in the Zhaoying Community of the High-tech Zone. The police, firefighting, urban management, health, emergency response, and other departments rushed to the scene to provide full rescue and disposal efforts immediately. The accident resulted in 3 seriously injured, 3 moderately injured, 7 slightly injured, and 7 with minor injuries, all of whom were promptly sent to the hospital for treatment. Currently, the 7 individuals with minor injuries have returned home after outpatient treatment at the hospital, while the remaining injured are being treated with all efforts.

Why Do Natural Gas Accidents Occur Frequently?

An analysis report published by the Chinese core journal "Gas & Heat" revealed that a total of 612 domestic gas accidents were reported by the media throughout 2023, resulting in 77 fatalities and 434 injuries. Among these incidents, there were 4 major accidents and 1 catastrophic accident.

In the confirmed causes of natural gas pipeline network accidents in 2023, the top three reasons were third-party construction damage, pipeline corrosion and leakage, and geological disasters. Notably, third-party construction damage accounted for the highest proportion of accidents, reaching 85.2%, with a nearly 12% increase year-on-year.

How Can Urban Gas Safety Be Effectively Protected?

I

In densely populated areas and high-consequence zones, any leakage in urban gas pipelines, if not detected promptly, can result in continuous natural gas leakage and potentially trigger explosion accidents, particularly in areas where gas pipelines cross railways, highways, and other sections, easily causing casualties and damage to public facilities. Therefore, fixed reflective laser gas telemetry meters can be employed to conduct real-time, long-distance, and active detection of high-pressure and secondary high-pressure pipelines on urban surfaces, as well as medium-pressure trunk pipelines in densely populated areas. This method enables the early detection of minor leaks, timely warnings, and longer emergency response times, thereby preventing minor leaks from escalating into major leaks and causing severe accidents.

II

In addition, enhancing 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, enabling it to instantly detect gas leakage data and accurately locate the leak using the Beidou/GPS system. By integrating with the GIS system, the inspection data (including whether there is leakage, the concentration of leakage, and the location of leakage) can be transmitted in real-time to the monitoring center via a wireless network.

III

For narrow alleys, old residential areas, and other areas where inspection vehicles have difficulty entering, an electric vehicle-mounted laser inspection system can be utilized. This system can inspect detection points at a cruising speed of 20km/h, locate leak areas, shorten inspection time, and significantly improve the efficiency of routine inspections, maintenance, and emergency repairs.

IV

For real-time online monitoring of newly constructed gas pipelines, a passive optical fiber laser leak detection system can be employed. This system comprises a main unit (including a laser control unit and a spectral analysis unit), optical sensing terminals, and a monitoring platform. Its biggest advantage is that the optical sensing terminals used for field monitoring do not require power supply, fully meeting the need for online monitoring equipment in scenarios where pipelines are buried underground and cannot be electrically powered.