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A BLEVE can occur in a vessel that stores a substance that is usually a gas at atmospheric pressure but is a liquid when pressurized (for example, liquified petroleum gas). The substance will be stored partly in liquid form, with a gaseous vapour above the liquid filling the remainder of the container.

If the vessel is ruptured - for example, due to corrosion, or failure under pressure - the vapour portion may rapidly leak, dropping the pressure inside the container and releasing a wave of overpressure from the point of rupture. This sudden drop in pressure inside the container causes violent boiling of the liquid, which rapidly liberates large amounts of vapour in the process. The pressure of this vapour can be extremely high, causing a second, much more significant wave of overpressure (i.e., an explosion) which may completely destroy the storage vessel and project it as shrapnel over the surrounding area.

A BLEVE does not require a flammable substance to occur, and therefore is not usually considered a type of chemical explosion. However, if the substance involved is flammable, it is likely that the resulting cloud of the substance will ignite after the BLEVE proper has occurred, forming a fireball and possibly a fuel-air explosion. BLEVEs can also be caused by an external fire nearby the storage vessel causing heating of the contents and pressure build-up.

Significant industrial BLEVEs include the accidents at Feyzin in France in 1966, Texas City, TexasTexas City is a city located in Galveston County, Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 41,521. The city suffered from the Texas City disaster on April 16, 1947. Geography Texas City is located at 29°23'60" North, 94°56'2" West in 1978Events January January 1 The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law. January 1 Air India's Boeing 747 explodes near Bombay 213 dead. January 4 Referendum in Chile supports policies of Augusto Pinochet., and San Juan Ixhuatepec in MexicoThis article is about the country Mexico. For other meanings, see Mexico (disambiguation The United Mexican States or Mexico ( Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico regarding the use of the variant spelling Mejico see section The name below) is a co in 1984This page is about the year 1984. For other uses of 1984, see 1984 (disambiguation). 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday (link shows calendar). Events January January 1 Brunei becomes a fully independent state January 1 AT&T is broken up into 22 indepe.