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Contact: Jo Murray, MCA Public Relations
510-238-8430
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
February 28, 2001 |
Five More Canadian Airports Purchase
New Fuel Leak Detection System
As a Result of Successful Installation in Montreal
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — After the success of its innovative
new underground pipeline leak detection systems at two major
Montreal airports, Vista Research, Inc., has installed the
equipment at airports in five additional Canadian cities:
Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver.
The leak detection system, which is being used in numerous
airports throughout North America, was first installed at
Montreal’s Dorval and Mirabel International Airports,
locations chosen by Air Canada as test sites three years ago.
"Air Canada—through…[its] lead role in the
Canadian Fuel Consortia—has always been very proactive
with regards to environmental management of airport fuel facilities
and systems," said Geoff Tauvette, Air Canada’s
fuel facilities manager. "As part of our commitment to
the airport and government authorities to protect the environment,
we investigated…leak detection technologies that would
perform tightness or pressure testing of underground high-pressure
airport hydrant systems." Among those examined was the
Vista HT-100 leak detection system.
"Several other pressure testing methods were tried,
but they did not meet our requirements," said Tauvette.
"It was determined that the Vista leak detection technology,
with its testing methodology, leak threshold criteria, ability
to improve accuracy through repetitive testing, and competitive
price, was the most compatible with the requirements of Air
Canada, the Canadian Fuel Consortia and the operation of the
Montreal fuel systems.
"The two units at Montreal have exceeded the vendor’s
performance claims and fully comply with the testing requirement
for hydrant systems," Tauvette added. "The Vista
leak detection technology [now] forms the backbone of the
hydrant system leak detection program in effect at each [of
the] Canadian Airports [that has] a hydrant system."
Earlier this year Toronto’s Pearson International Airport
used the Vista equipment to test a line containing 688,000
gallons of fuel, the largest line ever tested with Vista’s
HT-100 system. "The HT-100 has conducted more than a
dozen tests now, and is performing well even on this very
large line," said Michael R. Fierro, vice president of
Vista’s Products & Services Division.
"Air Canada’s decision to install the systems demonstrates
its commitment to environmental safety," Fierro added.
"We are proud that Air Canada chose Vista’s system,
which we believe offers the best possible protection against
soil contamination from undetected fuel leaks."
The leak detection system, which compensates for changes
in temperature while eliminating the need for lengthy shutdowns
of fueling systems, is the result of five years of research.
Eighteen months ago, Vista received a Technology Innovation
Award from Aviation Week & Space Technology for its HT-100
leak detection system.
Vista is a technology development company that historically
has done about 50 percent of its work in the area of leak
detection, serving both commercial and government customers.
Perhaps its best-known commercial product is the digitally
enhanced hockey puck, which made it easier for viewers to
follow the action during televised broadcasts of National
Hockey League games.
The advantage of Vista’s fuel line pressure tests is
that they can, in a few hours, accurately account for changes
in fuel volume caused by temperature variations, said Fierro.
Alternative pressure-test methods require that fuel systems
be shut down for long periods, which is impractical at major
airports.
The only other systems on the market require airports to
include fuel additives that can be detected by sensors in
the ground, or to install tracer wires in trenches along pipelines.
Using fuel additives is expensive, while tracer wires typically
have a life expectancy of only two to three years, he said.
Results of these types of tests also can be affected by soil
conditions.
In contrast, the Vista system can detect leaks as small as
0.00214 percent of the pipeline volume within a three-hour
test, typically conducted late at night. It works by calculating
the expected change in volume as the outside ground and air
conditions cause temperature changes in the fuel in the pipeline.
If the fuel volume does not change in accordance with the
expectations, it is an indication that there is a leak in
the system.
Vista’s equipment can be permanently installed and designed
to test pipeline systems as often as daily, or a mobile version
can be trucked in for periodic tests.
Montreal’s airports use two Vista systems. One HT-100
system is permanently installed at the fuel storage facility
that serves the larger Dorval Airport, where the pipelines
in the fueling system contain about 300,000 gallons. The other
HT-100 system is installed in a truck, and can be used in
testing the entire hydrant system at Mirabel as well as in
testing sections of pipeline at Dorval.
There are two versions of the Vista equipment: The HT-100
is designed for underground pipelines containing more than
3,000 gallons, and the LT-100 is designed for truck loading
racks and medium-length lines containing up to 10,000 gallons.
Both systems feature automatic compensation for thermal expansion
and contraction of liquid in the line, thus eliminating the
major source of error in leak detection tests based on fuel
pressure.In addition to the HT-100 and LT-100 units in permanent
operation, Vista has provided testing services at many major
airports, including Boston, Dallas, Miami, New York, Phoenix,
Portland, San Francisco and St. Louis.
Vista Research, founded in 1984, is headquartered in Sunnyvale,
Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley.
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