"Blast raises questions on gas line safety; Accidents in US relatively rare, but often deadly" by Jason Dearen and Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press | September 11, 2010
SAN BRUNO, Calif. — All that remained of some houses yesterday were chimneys, rising from still smoldering ruins. Burned-out cars sat along ash-covered streets. And a rescue worker with a dog searched door to door for missing people.
The day after a gas line ruptured and a towering fireball roared through a suburban San Francisco neighborhood, killing four people, officials were trying to determine what led to a blast that raised questions about the safety of similar lines that crisscross towns across America....
There is one under the street outside.
Some residents said they smelled gas in the neighborhood during the past several weeks....
Someone give Erin Brockovich a call.
Jerry Hill, a California assemblyman who represents San Bruno and surrounding cities, said he has heard multiple reports from constituents who had alerted utility PG&E of gas odors in the neighborhood before the disaster.
Uh-oh.
The residents “deserve to know if PG&E used the correct procedures in the days and weeks leading up to this disaster,’’ Hill said.
PG&E President Chris Johns said the company has heard the reports of a gas odor in the area before the blast.
“Right now, we haven’t got confirmation about that, but we have records that we are going back right this minute to try to confirm what exactly those phone calls look like and when they occurred, and we will report back as soon as we know something,’’ he said.
Industry certainly doesn't expect us to believe them anymore, do they?
By midafternoon yesterday, the utility could not confirm the residents’ reports of gas odors, but said it was “looking into it.’’
The damaged section of pipe was isolated and gas flow to the area was stopped. Haag said PG&E crews were still unable to reach the ruptured line yesterday because water covered it....
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SAN BRUNO, Calif. — The section of gas pipeline that ruptured and exploded in a suburban San Francisco neighborhood, killing four and injuring nearly 60 others, was ranked as high risk because it ran through a highly populated area, state and federal authorities said yesterday.
One of the victims killed in the inferno Thursday worked for the commission reviewing Pacific Gas & Electric’s investment plans to upgrade its natural gas lines, including another risky section of the same pipeline within miles of her home, a colleague confirmed.
Longtime California Public Utilities Commission analyst Jacqueline Greig and her 13-year-old daughter Janessa died in the massive blast, which left a crater near their house and laid waste to dozens of 1960s-era homes in the hills overlooking San Francisco Bay.
Jessica Morales, 20, was also killed in the explosion and fire....
Five people are still missing....
A group of local, state, and federal officials toured the damaged area yesterday and described a ghost town full of remnants of cars melted in driveways and pieces of houses....
Residents of roughly 270 homes that have been off-limits after the blaze will be allowed to return for good starting around noon today, said Connie Jackson, San Bruno’s city manager. Some residents were authorized to enter a limited area yesterday to retrieve belongings....
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SAN BRUNO, Calif. — California regulators yesterday ordered Pacific Gas and Electric to survey all its natural gas lines in the state following the huge explosion in suburban San Francisco that killed at least four people....
Residents returned to their scorched homes yesterday. They were accompanied by gas workers to help restore pilot lights and make sure it was safe to restore the power.
Investigators don’t know what caused the blast, and officials were still trying to determine how many people died....
PG&E said a nearby section of the pipeline was due to be replaced before the accident because it ran through a heavily urbanized area and the risk of failure was “unacceptably high.’’ That 30-inch-diameter pipe about 2.5 miles north was installed in 1948, and was slated to be swapped for a new 24-inch pipe.
Local and federal investigators are looking into the cause of the explosion that blew a segment of pipe 28 feet long onto the street some 100 feet away, creating a crater 167 feet long and 26 feet wide.
Streets were crowded with PG&E cars and trucks, and representatives were handing out gift certificates for grocery stores....
--more--"And they may not be the only ones needing a Gas-X:
"Throughout US, aging gas pipes pose serious risk; Utility establishes $100m fund for Calif. blast victims" by Garance Burke and Jason Dearen, Associated Press | September 14, 2010
SAN BRUNO, Calif. — An ominous theme has emerged from the wreckage of a deadly pipeline explosion in California: There are thousands of pipes just like it nationwide.
Utilities have been under pressure for years to better inspect and replace aging gas pipes, many of them laid years before the suburbs expanded over them and now at risk of leaking or erupting.
They had better things to do, like boost profits.
But the effort has fallen short. Critics say the regulatory system is ripe for problems because the government largely leaves it up to the companies to do inspections, and utilities are reluctant to spend the money necessary to properly fix and replace decrepit pipelines....
Just as we see with the COAL and OIL industries!
Yes, AmeriKa, your GOVERNMENT has FAILED YOU!
Investigators are trying to figure out how the pipeline in San Bruno ruptured and ignited a gigantic fireball that torched one home after another in the neighborhood Thursday, killing at least four people. Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the pipeline’s owner, said yesterday it has set aside up to $100 million to help residents recover.
Deja vu, 'eh Louisiana?
Analysts say the California disaster epitomizes the risks that communities with old gas lines face. The pipe was more than 50 years old, right around the life expectancy for steel pipes. It was part of a transmission line that in one section had an “unacceptably high’’ risk of failure. And it was in a densely populated area.
The blast was the latest warning sign in a series of deadly infrastructure failures in recent years, including a bridge collapse in Minneapolis and a steam pipe explosion that tore open a Manhattan street in 2007. The steam pipe that ruptured was more than 80 years old....
That's what happens when all your tax loot is spent on wars, Wall Street, Israel, and political pensions and perks.
Even when inspections are done and problems found, said Rick Kessler, a former congressional staffer specializing in pipeline safety issues who works for the Pipeline Safety Trust, an advocacy group based in Bellingham, Wash., there is no requirement for companies to say if or what kind of repairs were made. And Weimer added industry lobbyists have since pushed to relax that provision of the law so inspections could occur once a decade or once every 15 years.
Whose Weimer?
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Next time you hear a big boom, readers.... ???
