The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), presently under construction at CERN, will contain about 100 tonnes of helium, mostly located in the underground tunnel and caverns [1]. Potential failure modes of the accelerator, which may be followed by helium discharge to the tunnel, have been identified and the corresponding helium flows calculated. The paper presents the analysis of the helium discharge in the worst case of conditions, as well as the corresponding helium dispersion along the tunnel. The variation of oxygen concentration has been calculated and the oxygen deficiency hazard (ODH) analysed. The preventive means of protection, namely location and sizing of safety valves are also discussed.
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