The phenomenon of a violent tanker failure due to over-pressurization is known as

• A. BLEVE
• B. Vapor explosion
• C. Runaway cracking
• D. Tank rupture

Answer: (A)

BLEVE, Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion, describes this exact danger. When a tanker holds a pressurized liquefied liquid and is heated or exposed to fire, the liquid inside boils and its vapor pressure climbs. The vessel can fail from this over-pressurization, and as the liquid flashes to high-pressure vapor, it expands rapidly and violently blows the tank apart, often producing a powerful explosion and blast effects. This mechanism—internal pressure from boiling liquid leading to a catastrophic tank rupture—is what makes BLEVE the correct term for a violent tanker failure due to over-pressurization.

Vapor explosion refers more generally to a rapid ignition or expansion of a vapor cloud, not specifically the rupture of a pressurized tank. Runaway cracking is not the intended hazard here, and tank rupture is the end result but doesn’t identify the pressure-driven, boiling-liquid mechanism that BLEVE describes.