  Electromagnetic interactions between colliding heavy ions at the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC) at CERN will give rise to localized beam losses that may quench
superconducting magnets, apart from contributing significantly to the
luminosity decay. To quantify their impact on the operation of the collider, we
have used a three-step simulation approach, which consists of optical tracking,
a Monte-Carlo shower simulation and a thermal network model of the heat flow
inside a magnet. We present simulation results for the case of Pb ion operation
in the LHC, with focus on the ALICE interaction region, and show that the
expected heat load during nominal Pb operation is 40% above the quench level.
This limits the maximum achievable luminosity. Furthermore, we discuss methods
of monitoring the losses and possible ways to alleviate their effect.
