Contact: Jo Murray, MCA Public Relations
510-238-8430

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 27, 2001

SFO Installs Three Fuel Leak Detection Systems by Vista Research

SAN FRANCISCO---San Francisco International Airport is installing three HT-100 leak detection systems made by Vista Research, Inc., and designed especially to test the large underground hydrant lines that transport fuel at airports.

This is the largest single installation of Vista equipment, which also is used at other airports in the United States, as well as at six major Canadian airports. The airport chose to purchase three HT-100s because the layout of its fueling system makes it impossible to attach one HT-100 to all segments of the lines that the facility needs to test. In addition, with three HT-100 systems in operation, it is easier to detect very small leaks.

The advantage of Vista's volumetric systems is that they detect leaks as small as 0.0021 percent of pipeline volume in a 90-minute test, and they do not require the line to be proven tight prior to testing, an expensive additional requirement at facilities with existing piping. Alternative pressure-test methods require that fuel systems be shut down for long periods, which is impractical at major airports.

Some 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. Results of these types of tests also can be affected by soil conditions.

Vista's leak detection system, which compensates for changes in temperature while eliminating the need for lengthy shutdowns of fueling systems, is the result of six years of research at the Sunnyvale-based company.

The Vista system works by measuring the fuel quantity necessary to maintain two different pressures (consecutively) 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. The results are accurate even if vapor is trapped in the line or surge suppressors are in operation. The Vista systems are third-party certified and listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Working Group on Leak Detection Evaluations, as well as by the United Kingdom's Institute of Petroleum.

Vista's HT-100 leak detection system is available either as a permanent installation or a truck-mounted mobile system that can be transported to different sites whenever periodic testing of a pipeline is needed.

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.

Vista was founded in 1984. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.vistaleakdetection.com or by calling 408-830-3300.

###