Case Study - Methane Gas Mitigation Systems

Playa Vista, California, on the Westside of Los Angeles is a community of new luxury homes and condominiums nestled, adjacent to the newly restored Ballona freshwater marsh. Playa Vista is the first new homeowner community to be established on the Westside of Los Angeles in over 50 years. In creating Playa Vista, the developers examined every aspect of urban life - architecture, environment, parks, technology transportation, energy efficiency and safety.

This development Is located in Los Angeles County above one of the many areas that have been tested and shown to contain concetntrations of methane gas in the soil. The methane is generated from the ancient wetlands that were once situated in the location of Playa Vista and result from decomposing flora and fauna leftover and buried underground for over 100,000 years. In order to build on the property, the local Fire and Building Safety officials determined that a membrane must be installed under the foundation with vents to prevent percolating methane from entering structures and instead channel any gas into the atmosphere.

As an additional safeguard, gas detection was required at various locations throughout the buildings to detect any methane that may accidentally enter the building or parking structures. Since the project is so large, (it is anticipated to ultimately have over 100 buildings), the authorities wanted to be able to view over the internet current real time levels of methane in all the buildings, as well as any history of events in the past. Some additional challenges included detection of gas in many difficult locations and applications. These ranged from ceilings, stairwells, parking garages, to more difficult applications like elevator pits, vent risers, and luxury homes and condos. Working with the customer and architect, Sierra Monitor was able to provide aesthetically pleasing installations without compromising safety.

The Sentry Gas Risk Management System from Sierra Monitor was chosen because of the ability to accommodate many different size applications economically as well as the ability to communicate serially to a FieldServer LANServer providing event logging, internet connections showing all data, and local indication on a Site Map showing realtime conditions on a graphic display located in a safe access area.

The project manager said, "When we had problems with another vendor, SMC was there to help us out. They met our demands providing us with a superior product at a competitive price. In the last 2 years we have been pleased with the product and support provided and look forward to many more years working with them."