7/18/2008 10:37:00 AM

Letter: Invaluable resource It is now almost two years since I visited Astoria to speak about concerns I have regarding potential safety hazards to the public posed by liquefied natural gas import terminal operations. I came away feeling that the majority of those I addressed sought only to be dealt with openly and truthfully - I detected no ax to grind that was not their right. As I have been in similar positions on the LNG question before, I am not surprised at the contention that has developed in Oregon over the Bradwood Landing project. Just about everybody has become involved, and the situation seems to me to be headed for compromise. That may be the best that can be achieved, as this issue is extremely complex, involving some of the most serious questions we face today regarding our husbandry of natural resources and energy. Today's editorial byline in The Oregonian reads "The state's environmental concerns should be addressed, but the Bradwood Landing project deserves fair treatment" ("The overheated LNG debate," July 15). I find this statement impossible not to support. But I also believe that the safety-related concerns of the public should be as fully and fairly as practicable addressed as the process moves forward. I am not anti-LNG in any way. I do not think I need to go on here about the value of LNG any more than I need to go on about the value of salmon - that value is not questioned. My concern is this: As a scientific observer of the methods that are being used to define the potential consequences of credible events that could attend LNG import terminal operations, I am concerned that pressures to move forward have resulted in failure to realistically consider the potential for events that the public would consider (after the fact) to be catastrophic. To that end, I summarized in my Astoria presentation those safety concerns which I felt were not being adequately addressed, and I reiterated some of them at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission public hearing in November. The consequences, as well as the likelihood of credible hazard events occurring during the operation of an LNG import terminal at Bradwood Landing must be considered scientifically and accurately if all our interests are to be served. I remain concerned that the potential consequences of all of those credible events are not being sufficiently considered. Jerry Havens Professor of chemical engineering University of Arkansas