Methane is a colorless, odorless greenhouse gas and is considered a significant factor behind 25% global warming. It is the main constituent of natural gas that can result in mood swings, slurred speech, vision problems, memory loss, nausea, vomiting. Worse, there may be breathing and heart rate variations, numbness, and unconsciousness. Today, U.S. oil and gas corporations release more than 16 million metric tons of methane annually, representing $3 billion worth of wasted gas.
As a result, state and federal policymakers are coming forward with strict regulatory requirements aiming to limit methane pollution and waste from oil and gas operations. This has remarkably increased the demand for skilled and professional methane mitigation and design consulting companies in Los Angeles.
Why is the Rise in Methane Levels Worrying?
Southern California has a high abundance of methane gas used extensively for cooking and heating. Due to its potential health hazards and high flammability, the city of Los Angeles implemented Methane Code in 2004, requiring methane mitigation of sites in former oil fields, in or near landfills, or swamps and marsh areas.
Several building departments in Southern California have adopted methane mitigation design code requirements to prevent methane gas migration into buildings.
Today, all new construction in Southern California prefers to install a soil gas mitigation system to prevent vapor intrusion into crawl space or subterranean levels of buildings.
What is Methane Mitigation, and Why is it Important?
A methane mitigation plan is a comprehensive and robust design that aims to eliminate the hazardous effects of methane soil gas vapor intrusion into buildings. Methane Mitigation System requirements are usually decided by the outcomes of the methane mitigation report.
Methane mitigation systems are usually implemented on sites with current or historical oil fields, landfills, or soil contamination areas that need methane mitigation designs.
The absence of a methane mitigation system may release toxic vapors from the foundations, adversely affecting indoor air quality. Ignoring these issues can cause a fatal accumulation of methane gas indoors.
Eventually, this can cause explosive and asphyxiation hazards that may risk the lives of the occupants. The installation of methane mitigation systems usually comprises three phases.
- Phase I – Methane Site Testing
- Phase II – Design of Methane Mitigation System
- Phase III – Installation of Approved Design
The Takeaway
The best thing is methane mitigation, and design consultants remain up-to-date with the latest design standards and building codes. In fact, they employ innovative and practical design optimization methods that prevent the migration of methane gas into buildings, resulting in an engineering design that is functional, cost-effective, and long-lasting!
