Following the September 9th explosion of a gas line in San Bruno, California, residents and officials are calling for action. The blast and the inferno that followed engulfed 58 homes, left four dead and four more missing. A pipe line explosion of this magnitude in a residential area will is not going without great inquiry by the public nor representatives. California Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein have asked for an inspection of the state's gas lines.
While the blast itself was destructive, the inferno that followed did much of the damage. And while some gas lines today employ technology that automatically enables gas pipe lines to be closed in the case of seismic activity, pressure change, as well as damage inflicted to the pipe line, the pipe line running through San Bruno is aging and the line must be closed manually in the case of a leak. Surprisingly, the leak was preceded by only two minor complaints that gas was smelled since July 1st.
Aging pipe lines similar to this have been a concern for many federal officials, especially those that run through residential areas. Urban encroachment is blamed for the proximity to the pipe line, as the pipe line was built before the San Bruno subdivision that was devastated by the blaze. The pipe line failure occurred despite the consideration by officials of the possible threat of building home in close proximity to a major gas line, and it comes despite the inspections that officials implemented in order to combat issues of age. Although, the last inspection was six years ago and the next one was not due for another two years in 2012.
New regulations for the energy industry are nothing new today as the moratorium on off shore drilling is still in effect and the White House looks onto energy companies with distaste. Because an overhaul of pipe line technology, such as automatic shut off valves would likely prove impractical and overly costly, at least in the short term, more frequent inspections of pipe lines, particularly those in well populated areas, is the most likely outcome of this disaster.
Scource: WSJ , http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/09/09/homes_on_fire_after_explosion_reported_in_calif/
This reminds me somewhat of the Love Canal disaster in Niagara Falls which is only about twenty minutes from where I live in Buffalo. An incredibly long story short, the city signed off on building homes in close proximity to a former toxic waste dump. Some people ended up getting incredibly sick and even died. Hooper Chemical was blamed initially, but the real crook was the city who allowed the development to occur.
ReplyDeleteThis bears some similarities in the sense that the industry is being unfairly blamed. Aging technology is everywhere. One of the best examples would be the pipelines of New York City. Allowing urban development near an older gas pipeline is just dangerous and I personally think that these people should point the finger at themselves for allowing that to happen.