San Bruno explosion: closeup view of the pipe that blew

[jgraz]

I'd be interested in seeing if our resident experts have any comments.


More photos here: http://framework.latimes.com/2010/09/09/fire-in-san-bruno/#/2

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. Holy crap - that is a HUGE pipe.

Installed in 1948 from what I understand. Yikes!

[jgraz]

The edges look corroded to me

But what do I know? :shrug:

[Liberal_in_LA]

35. +5

[bbinacan]

46. It's only a 30 inch line. n/t

[Gin]

2. it's shocking to see a pipe that size in a populated neighborhood.

I know nothing about this sort of thing and I am happy to live in an all electric condo..

the pictures were spectacular and awful at the same time.

[Maru Kitteh]

63. Your all-electric condo could still rest right over the top of one of these.

[truedelphi]

3. Was this beneath a city street, or a backyard or an empty lot?

No one on the local news is saying.

The crater at this new Ground Zero measures ninety by thirty feet.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. These large ones go usually through the middle of large, or

largish streets, together with water mains.

When a water main starts to fail you get a sinkhole. Here you got the smell of gas. Both can be spectacular. But, I prefer the water main... forceful yes, damaging yes... but at least there is no heat and that is important.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Banana peel at the back end

that looks like a classic structural failure.

The NTSB will have fun.

Realize that this happens due to lack of taking care off and feeding of infrastructure.

There is also corrosion on this.

Oh and that banana peel... I can see why they had the smell of gas for a week. That is the point of failure... there was a crack on this that was seeping.

No, I am not an absolute expert on this, but seen this before... and the force to do that is quite large.

[Warpy]

8. That's my guess, too

That section might have had a weak weld. Add a little corrosion after 30 years in the ground plus the constant stress of small quakes and nature will definitely side with any hidden flaw.

It looks like what happened to the water coming into my house last spring. At least the water only created a small geyser in my front yard and didn't blow the dump up.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Bad well, or just corrosion

this was put in the ground in the late 1940s... these things have a recommended service life. Let me see if I find it... 'cause that will be part of the court case.

And no I cannot find any reference on the intertubes, so yes I am pulling a remembered number from oh many decades ago from my rear end. I think the operational life of a main is between 25-30 years. They can do certain things to increase this... but if my memory is correct... and don't count on it... this been on the ground for well over it's operational life.

And our infrastructure, not just here... all over, is showing signs of quite a bit of stress... err deadly failures.

[dave29]

10. being surprised (although I should not have been)

that this was a structural issue, as opposed to a dig issue (my previous experience)... I have begun to wonder if there was any role the water main played in this over time, being right next door. I have no doubts there was a failure on the part of PG&E here, I agree this is a crime scene... but I want to know all the facts "underground."

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Locally our water mains fail

regularly.

It will take billions to replace them. So the city replaces them when they fail. This has been the standard operating procedure for decades and that includes gas companies. We haven't really invested in infrastructure maintainance, let alone investment in new one... so we are starting to pay the price.

The courts will have fun on this one... both criminal and civil liability to be honest.

[jgraz]

14. Scary. I'm pretty sure a similar pipe runs along the back of my lot.

Thanks for the insight on this.

[malaise]

5. Unfuggingbelievable

I feel it for those people.

[uppityperson]

7. k&r

[AsahinaKimi]

12. One would guess that

The evidence of this will make PG&E responsible for damages.. Californians need to watch this carefully, that they don't renege on their promises.

[madrchsod]

13. i`m guessing the pipe corroded then seeped out gas until it exploded

http://corrosion-doctors.org/Pipeline/Pipeline-failures.htm

[MadMaddie]

15. This is what failing Infrastructure looks like.

I am curious as to how old those pipes are?

Keith just said the pipes were "60 years old"! How does this not prove that America as a whole especially the old large cities are sitting and driving on catastrophes ready to happen?

[Luminous Animal]

30. Also, that is what privately held crumbling infrastructure looks like.

It's been proven time and time again that communities that have the democratic option to vote on timely repairs and upgrades, will. Board of Directors responsive to shareholders? Not so much.

[MadMaddie]

39. You are so right!

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Sixty year old pipe

well beyond operational lifetime... even if for the life of me I cannot find the "number" on the intertubes.

From memory... 25-30 years... so it should have been replaced oh in 1980 or so... amazing... any coincidences are just your imagination.

[dave29]

18. I guess 60 is the new 30

this is what happens when you lie to yourself, and compromise safety for greed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. What is scary is that yesterday from looking

at the tape some of this we more or less could tell.

Thankfully though... my expectations of MUCH HIGHER casualties, including Killed... have not come to be... and I am pleasantly surprised about that.

[dave29]

23. that fire had determination, and purpose

just watching it I felt we had 25-50 dead. It seems people still have the "flight" part of "fight or flight" down pretty good. Raising a glass to that tonight.

[jgraz]

29. I just keep thinking what would have happened had this pipe waited til midnight to blow.

:scared:

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. Don't... you'll sleep better

today I did NOT buy steak for lunch even though it was at a good price. And going to sleep last night took a good hour...

There are reasons why.

[jgraz]

34. Given that I have one of these pipes right behind my house, I doubt it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. Oh about 10 feet from where i am typing this

there is the easement... what do you think is running down there?

SDG&E is not much better...

But for me the scenes yesterday brought way too many memories. Hoping neighbors don't decide to do a barbecue for a week or so.

[Gman]

26. Probably more accurately

compromise safety with city budget cuts.

[jgraz]

31. PG&E is a private, for-profit company

This was (yet another) failure of private industry.

[Luminous Animal]

41. Actually, the Bay Area is very responsive to tax hikes to improve infrastructure.

Privately held utilities? Not so much. I do expect, though, that PG & E will be petitioning the Utilities Commission to approve a rate hike in order to improve infrastructure. Of course, the entire process will be undemocratic and most likely PG & E will succeed without the "restrictions" of public oversight. They own most of the politicians in Northern California.

[dave29]

37. Aging infrastructure... bah!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxNpz41wSOg


United States

1965: Gas transmission pipeline, north of Natchitoches, Louisiana, belonging to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company explodes from stress corrosion cracking, killing 17 people. This accident lead to then President Lyndon B. Johnson to call for the formation of a national pipeline safety agency. (March 4, 1965)
1968: Ruptured LPG pipeline, near Yutan, Nebraska. Repair crews responded to a pipeline rupture, thought vapors were dispersed, but ignited a vapor cloud by driving into it. Five repairmen were killed. (December 5, 1968)
1969: Low pressure natural gas distribution system, Gary, Indiana. (June 3, 1969)
1969: High pressure natural gas pipeline. A 14-inch (360 mm) natural gas pipeline running at 789 psi near Houston, Texas ruptures, causing a massive fire. Construction work downstream of the accident lead to a pressure build up that caused the rupture. September 9, 1969.
1970: Colonial Pipeline Company, petroleum products pipeline, Jacksonville, Maryland, (September 3, 1970.
1970: 1970 Propane vapour cloud explosion in Port Hudson, Phillips Pipeline Company propane gas explosion, Franklin County, Missouri. Leak lead to propane cloud explosion with a force of several tons of TNT. (December 9, 1970)
1970: Explosion of a 30 inch diameter 1100 psi inlet natural gas pipeline, bringing offshore natural gas into a gas drying plant in southern Louisiana. Two plant personnel were killed. Rupture was at a junction of a 12 inch gas line to the 30 inch main line. (December 1970)
1972: Rupture of propane pipeline, near Butler, Alabama. A road grader in use hit a high pressure propane pipeline. A short time after the line was ruptured, a car drove into the vapor cloud, igniting it, and killing four people. (June 20, 1972)
1973: Natural gas liquids pipeline rupture. Austin, Texas A natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline ruptured due to an improper weld. Six people killed. (February 22, 1973)
1975: Natural gas liquids pipeline rupture. An NGL pipeline ruptured due to previous mechanical damage at Devers, Texas. 4 killed in vapor cloud fire. (May 12, 1975)
1975: LPG pipeline rupture. An LPG pipeline ruptured near Romulus, Michigan, due to previous mechanical damage to the pipeline and over pressurization from operator error at a storage facility. Nine people were injured in the vapor cloud fire. (August 2, 1975)
1976 LPG pipeline rupture. An LPG pipeline ruptured near Whitharral, Texas, leading to vapor cloud fire that killed five and destroyed two homes. Electrical resistance weld (ERW) failure is suspected for the failure. (February 25, 1976)
1976 Petroleum products pipeline. A front loader hit an eight inch petroleum products pipeline in Los Angeles, California during a road widening project along Venice Boulevard. 9 were killed, and serious property damage occurred.(June 16, 1976)
1976 Natural gas pipeline rupture. A road grader hit a 20-inch (510 mm) gas transmission pipeline near Cartwright, Louisiana. Six killed in the following fire. (August 9, 1976)
1977 LPG pipeline rupture. A LPG pipeline ruptured near Ruff Creek, Pennsylvania from stress corrosion cracking. The resulting propane vapor cloud ignited when a truck driven into the cloud stalled, then created a spark when it was restarted. (July 20, 1977)
1978 LPG pipeline rupture and fire. An LPG pipeline at Donnellson, Iowa ruptured from past mechanical damage and improper lowering for road improvements. The vapor cloud ignited several minutes after the rupture. Three people were killed. (August 4, 1978)
1978 A gas pipeline in Brookside Village, Texas ruptured and exploded, killing five people, and injuring 43 others. Seven mobile homes were also destroyed, (October 24, 1978)
1979 Natural gas pipeline rupture. An anchor handling boat, PETE TIDE II, damages an unmarked gas pipeline with a grappling hook offshore from New Orleans, Louisiana. A fire followed, and the two of the crew were missing and presumed dead. (July 15, 1979)
1980 A pipeline carrying naptha ruptured under a street in Long Beach, California, causing a fire that destroyed one home and damaged several others. Two people were injured. Lack of communication of pipeline valve setups, and pressure relief valves set to open at too high a pressure were identified by the NTSB as causes of the accident. (December 1, 1980)
1981 A 12-inch-diameter (300 mm) pipeline near Ackerly, TX, was hit by a rathole drill, releasing an ethane-propane mix. There was then an explosion & fire that killed 4 people. (September 27, 1981)
1983 An 8-inch (200 mm) LPG pipeline was hit by a rotating auger used for planting trees near West Odessa, TX. After several minutes, the escaping LPG ignited, killing 5 people & injuring 5 others. (March 15, 1983)
1984 An 8-inch (200 mm) NGL pipeline near Hurst, TX, was hit by a front loader, and the escaping gases ignited, causing burns to the equipment operator. (February 28, 1984)
1985 A 30-inch-diameter (760 mm) gas pipeline weakened by atmospheric corrosion ruptured near Beaumont, KY. 5 people were killed, and 3 injured. (April 27, 1985)
1986 A 30-inch-diameter (760 mm) gas pipeline ruptures due to corrosion near Lancaster, KY. 3 people had serious burns, and 5 others had lesser injuries. (February 21, 1986)
1986 A backhoe snags a gas distribution line in Fort Worth, TX, causing a break that leaked gas into a unoccupied building. Later, that building exploded, injuring 22 people, destroying the unoccupied building, & damaging 40 other buildings. 57 automobiles in the unoccupied building were damaged or destroyed. (March 12, 1986)
1986 Petroleum products pipeline rupture at Mounds View, Minnesota. Gasoline at 1,434 psi sprayed a residential area around 4:20 am local time, then ignited. Two were killed, and many homes damaged or destroyed. Confusion by the pipeline company lead to a delay in shutting down the pipeline. Electrical resistance welded (ERW) seam failure caused the rupture. (July 8, 1986)
1989 Petroleum products pipeline failure after the San Bernardino train disaster, California. Damage from derailment cleanup caused petroleum products pipelines to rupture, spraying homes with gasoline. Three killed in following fire.
1989 New York City Con Edison Steam Pipe explosion, rupture 3 are killed in the 3rd ave- Grammercy Park area.
1990 Propane pipeline rupture and fire, North Blenheim, New York, March 13, 1990. Stress from previous work done on a pipeline causes rupture, vapor cloud moved downhill into a town. 2 killed and numerous buildings destroyed when the cloud ignited.
1993 On Sunday, March 28 at 8:48, a pressurized 36-inch-diameter (910 mm) petroleum product pipeline owned and operated by Colonial Pipeline Company ruptured near Hemdon, Virginia. The rupture created a geyser which sprayed diesel fuel over 75 feet into the air, coating overhead powerlines and adjacent trees, and misting adjacent Virginia Electric Power Company buildings. The diesel fuel spewed from the rupture into an adjacent storm water management pond and flowed overland and through a network of storm sewer pipes before reaching Sugarland Run Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River.<4>
1994 Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion and Fire Previous damage cause a natural gas transmission pipeline to rupture at Edison, New Jersey on March 23, 1994.
1996 Butane Pipeline rupture and fire, near Lively, Texas, August 24, 1996. 2 killed after driving into an unseen butane cloud. Leak was caused by external corrosion.
1997 Pipeline Rupture and Fire, Indianapolis, Indiana, July 21, 1997.
1998 Natural Gas Explosion and Fire, South Riding, Virginia, July 7, 1998.
1998 Natural Gas Pipeline Rupture and Subsequent Explosion, St. Cloud, Minnesota, December 11, 1998.
1999 Natural Gas Explosion and Fire at a gas pressure station, Wytheville, Virginia, destroying a home and motorcycle store.<5> (January 3, 1999)
1999 Natural Gas Service Line and Rupture and Subsequent Explosion and Fire, Bridgeport, Alabama, January 22, 1999
1999 A pipeline in a Bellingham, Washington park leaked gasoline, vapor from the leak exploded and killed 2 10 year old boys and an 18 year old man on June 10, 1999. Issues causing the rupture were found to be previous pipe damage by excavation, incorrectly set up pressure relief valve, unexpected remote valve closure, and new software tests on the live controlling computer.
2000 Hazardous Liquid Pipe Failure and Leak, Explorer Pipeline Company, Greenville, Texas, March 9, 2000.
2000 Natural Gas Pipeline Rupture and Fire Near Carlsbad, New Mexico This Explosion Killed 12 Members Of The Same Family. Cause was due to severe internal corrosion of the pipeline. (August 19, 2000)
2000 Rupture of Piney Point Oil Pipeline and Release of Fuel Oil Near Chalk Point, Maryland, April 7, 2000.
2002 Rupture of Enbridge Pipeline and Release of Crude Oil near Cohasset, Minnesota, On July 4, 2002 an Enbridge pipeline ruptured in a marsh near Cohasset, in Itasca County, spilling 6,000 barrels (~250,000 gallons) of crude oil. In an attempt to keep the oil from contaminating the Mississippi River, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources set a controlled burn that lasted for 1 day and created a smoke plume about 1 mile high and 5 miles long.<6>
2003 Excavation Damage to Natural Gas Distribution Line Resulting in Explosion and Fire, Wilmington, Delaware, July 2, 2003.
2004 On November 21, 2004, a 14-inch-diameter (360 mm) petroleum multiproduct pipeline sprung a leak that was transporting gasoline at the time of the release. The pipeline, owned and operated by the California-Nevada Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of Kinder-Morgan Energy Partners, is the main source of petroleum fuel products for Las Vegas, NV. An 80 foot geyser was discovered on the morning of November 22, 2004, after numerous complaints of a strong gasoline odor on Interstate 15 in northern San Bernardino County, CA.<7>
2007 On January 1, an Enbridge pipeline that runs from Superior, Wisconsin to near Whitewater, Wisconsin failed, resulting in a spill of ~50,000 gallons of crude oil onto farmland and into a drainage ditch.<8> The same pipeline was struck by construction crews on February 2, 2007, in Rusk County, Wisconsin, spilling ~126,000 gallons of crude. Some of the oil filled a hole more than 20 feet deep and was reported to have contaminated the local water table.<9>
2007 2007 New York City steam explosion, on July 18, 2007
2007 A 12-inch (300 mm) propane pipeline explodes, killing two and injuring five others near Carmichael, AL on November 1, 2007. The NTSB determined the probable cause was likely ERW seam failure. Inadequate education of residents near the pipeline about how to respond to a pipeline accident was also cited as a factor in the deaths.
2008 Natural gas pipeline explodes and catches fire on February 5, near Hartsville, TN Believed to have been caused by a tornado hitting the facility.
2008 A gasoline release from a petroleum pipeline occurred on November 25, 2008 at a retail mall in Murrysville, PA. Officials said the release occurred from the six-inch line at about 9:30 a.m. while a Sunoco Logistics crew was working on a ball valve.<10>
2009 A rupture of pipeline near Cygnet, Ohio, owned by Philadelphia-based Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, resulted in one of the largest oil spills in Wood County history. Feb. 18, 2009.<11>
2009 Natural gas pipeline explodes and catches fire on May 5, 2009 near Rockville, IN in Parke County about 24 miles north of Terre haute, IN. PHMSA indicated the possibility of external corrosion in its Corrective Action Order (CAO) to the pipeline company. Pictures have been released around the area showing the damage caused. 49 homes were evacuated in a one-mile area of the explosion. No injuries reported.
2009 Bushland, Texas — Two people hurt when a natural gas pipeline exploded in the Texas Panhandle. The explosion early Thursday 5 November left a hole about 30 yards by 20 yards and close to 15 feet deep. The blast shook homes, melted window blinds and shot flames hundreds of feet into the air. The home nearest the blast — about 100 yards away- was destroyed. Bushland is about 15 miles west of Amarillo.<12>
2009 A new 42-inch (1,100 mm) gas transmission pipeline near Philo, Ohio fails on the second day of operation. There was no fire, but evacuations resulted. (November 14, 2009)
2010 On Monday, July 26, the pipeline company, Enbridge Energy Partners LLP (Enbridge), reported that a 30-inch (760 mm) pipeline belonging to Enbridge burst in Marshall, Michigan. The company estimates over 800,000 gallons of crude oil leaked into Talmadge Creek, a waterway that feeds the Kalamazoo River.<13> <14> <15>
2010 On Thursday, September 9, a high pressure gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, CA. It destroyed 38 homes and damaged 120 homes. Four people died and many were injured. 10 acres burned in total.<16> <17>

[libnnc]

17. kick

:banghead:

I hope this neighborhood sees some justice for all they've lost. But I'm not holding my breath.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Courts, ten years, at the very least

many of these people are senior citizens.

[Swamp Rat]

21. No wonder it blew up

It's old and corroded.

[davepc]

22. Billions for infrastructure upgrades in Iraq and A-Stan, pennies for ones in the USA!

[Luminous Animal]

25. Private industry shouldn't be getting anything for upgrading this kind of infrastructure...

And I don't dismiss a private contracting crews managing infrastructure improvements but PG & E does not deserve to receive public funds to replace it's privately held deteriorating equipment or manage the hiring or managing the budget.

They rule Northern California's energy and they've screwed over Northern California time and time again.

[jgraz]

28. Simply put, private industry has no business owning this kind of infrastructure.

The people and their government should be managing these pipes and the resources they carry.

[Luminous Animal]

36. Excactly. San Francisco activists have been fighting PG&E for decades.

In every public power campaign, we are outgunned by millions of dollars and high level Democratic and Republican corporatists who have access to media face time.

Their main argument, which the majority of voting citizens swallow every time... If the city can't run public transportation without a deficit, how could they possibly manage a public utility? Of course, people don't contemplate, for even a moment, whether our roads and highways rely on taxpayer subsidies.

[bbinacan]

24. I'm in the business and my guess

is that someone hit it with a backhoe. Should have made a one call to 811.

[jgraz]

27. Nope. No construction in the area.

Also, residents had been complaining about a gas smell for over a week.

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. Not a one backhoe in the area

this is a classic failure.

My guess is you have not seen one ever... we usually don't have them.

Let me rephrase this... we used not to. Sixty year old pipes, we will see more of this.

[bbinacan]

40. I've seen pipes laid

in 1905 that don't do this.

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. But this one did

there are reasons that they fail.

There are also ways to extend their service life.

Given HOW it failed... I am willing to bet the money needed to do that was not spent.

[bbinacan]

45. I doubt that

a leak where money is flowing out of the pipe would prevent a repair. My bet is that someone hit it while digging.

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. What part of no construction was involved in this

are you missing? Or that there were complaints of gas smell for a week are you missing?

This is a failure... wait for the NTSB to issue report in six months. But this was a failure.

Yes our infrastructure is in such a poor state of repair it is not funny.

[bbinacan]

50. You just don't have

explosions like this from just a leak or even a breach. Natural gas dissapates quickly. This sounds like a breach with a spark at the source, the 30 inch pipe. Someone hit the line.

[nadinbrzezinski]

51. We will wait for the NTSB

because what you did see was a classic... photos of other places where things like this happened


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KCA_gm3pyjk/SfX8NQqX6nI/AAAAAAAAAEA/q-u6MBadVbw/s320/explosion+22.jpg


So yes, they do happen... usually when infrastructure is in really bad state of repair, and usually NOT in the US... welcome to the third world...

[Wednesdays]

54. So, ya got a little evidence for that backhoe?

Or are you just consulting your ouija board? Burden of proof on the claimant, and all that...

"Gas just dissapates quickly." Huh, that sounds sorta familiar...something about the Gulf of Mexico comes to mind.

And you trust pipelines from 1905? Holy shit! :wow:

[nadinbrzezinski]

57. Well gas does dissipate quickly

but when on fire it just does the fireball routine...

And until they closed the flow, which took a while... it was... in a nice fireball. That said it is heavy enough that this is why why were smelling it for a weak.

And yes there are main lines even put on the ground back in the 17th century... Baltimore's water mains are made out of wood...

The maintainance needed is just insane, but is actually cheaper to do that than replace them.

This was the kind of failure though (And I will hold final judgement as to the cause until the VERY BORING and LONG and TECHNICAL report) is issued by the NTSB. The primary, early one, should be out in a month or so... Still Engineers Engineers don't want to talk about how bad we are truly doing.

The History Channel had a wonderful program on how bad our infrastructure is doing. If you really want to have a few sleepless nights

http://shop.history.com/detail.php?p=104694&v=history

Worth watching... speaks volumes about this, and they even go into some of the ways they can actually repair or maintain even 60 and 90 year old pipes to make them continue to serve. Taking them out of the ground is intensive and expensive. So there are ways to get around it. We are mostly not even doing that. And as a country we will continue to pay a cost for this. We need to spend at least a couple Trillion to fix, and upgrade some of this... but lovely politics. Mexico, this is what I am reminded off...

[Wednesdays]

55. dupe

nt

[YvonneCa]

66. How close are they to the San Andreas? n/t

[madokie]

43. Not to take away from this but to remind us of what we live with each day

http://steamtraction.farmcollector.com/Farm-life/The-Explosion-In-Noel.aspx

(So many of these stories of explosions are written about years ago, but this is one that happened just last summer - it's frightening - Anna Mae)

Sunday, August 3rd, 1969, at 4:03 in the morning, Noel, Missouri, was horrified and terrified by an explosion of indescribable and unbelievable magnitude that cannot be described by a word picture or with a camera. Only we, who live in Noel and have seen, from day to day, the damages done to the homes and business buildings, have a faint conception of the tremendous power of that explosion.

So far, we have not had a satisfactory answer what caused the explosion. A train came into Noel with a burning flat car with two cylinders or vats of ammonium per chlorate, an oxidizer for propellant fuel and a box car containing alfalfa meal. No one knows what triggered the explosion. It is reported that five cars were totally disintegrated and parts were scattered as far as a mile from the explosion.

Approximately 115 homes and 48 business places were either damaged or totally wrecked. One person was killed, another died from a heart attack and about 80 persons were injured. No one has the answer why more were not killed. It is unbelievable.

I lived in Noel during the summer of '75 and never had so much fun, at night all through the week the place was literally crawling with night critters, all sizes, shapes and ages.

[DCKit]

44. Looks like a new title for a SciFi Movie of the week...

Snakes of the Gas

[Starry Messenger]

47. I'm not an expert anything, but that is fucking scary.

The other pictures at that link are devastating. Those people will never see any justice from this. :(

[YvonneCa]

68. The live video feed last night was...

...awful.

[mindwalker_i]

49. I told them not to go to Taco Bell

Now look what happened the their pipe.

[bbinacan]

52. Hey! We need a moratorium on all

gas lines in the US. Shut them all down. I don't need no stinkin' heat or hot water.:sarcasm:

[Wednesdays]

56. Oh brother.

What a work of logic that is. :eyes:

[nadinbrzezinski]

58. Nah we need at least a 2T investment in fixing what is

wrong wiht the nation's infrastructure. Not hard, really.

Some will have to see them pulled out of the ground. But shit, there are things that can be done after sending the cameras down the tubes, and a few other testing mechanisms to make even old pipes behave like new. If you've seen them go down the ground, you know this.

[slackmaster]

53. My expert comment is "Fuckin'-A!"

:wow:

[Strelnikov_]

59. Atlas shrugged n/t

[Strelnikov_]

60. A) Thermonuclear war looks like it could be a real pain n/t

[Strelnikov_]

61. B) Get used to it

There is no money to be made in maintenance.

We have steel pipes all over the country in use well beyond their safe service life.

The profit margin must not only be be maintained, but continually increase!!!

[RandomThoughts]

62. They should check for people that were researching

Locations of underground pipes over the last few weeks.

Just to be sure. The way it matched the DADT ruling is a bit odd. Although correlation is not causation.








And someone needs to pay the money due for beer and travel financing, since I am owed that for a smear years ago.

[JohnA1]

64. Thats a huge pipe!

That is nuts, that pipe is huge! I am shocked that more people didnt die from that explosion, looks at those houses, luckily it looks like most were able to flee the fire.

[unkachuck]

65. why was a high pressure gas main....

....that large allowed in the middle of a residential area?....or, why was a residential area allowed to be built around or over a gas-main that large?

....when times are good we don't spend money on infrastructure because it will slow the economy....when times are bad we don't spend money on infrastructure because we haven't any....

....we don't spend enough money on infrastructure; so, we blow up good, real good....

[nadinbrzezinski]

69. All cities in the world have pipes that size running in the middle

of major metropolitan areas...

But you need to care and feed it... we haven't, for over two generations.

[redwitch]

67. I remember this explosion in Lambertville, NJ 1971

Lambertville, NJ Natural Gas Explosions, Feb 1971
Posted March 31st, 2009 by Stu Beitler

SEVEN DIE WHEN GAS EXPLODES.

HIGH PRESSURE LEAK BLAMED IN TWO N. J. BLASTS.

Lambertville, N.J. (UPI) -- Seven persons were killed Wednesday when a gas explosion ripped through a house where several neighbors had sought refuge after an earlier blast destroyed two homes.
MRS. NANCY CROSBY, 60, escaped death when her house was destroyed in the initial explosion. She crossed the street to the neighbor's home where she was killed two hours later by the second explosion.
In addition to MRS. CROSBY, BRIAN HOAGLUND, 11, two other women, two young girls and another boy were killed in the dual explosions in this community on the Delaware River about 15 miles north of Trenton, the state capital. The others were not identified.
At least nine persons were injured, one seriously.
Officials theorized a faulty valve on a three-inch high pressure gas line may have caused the explosions by permitting gas to leak into sewer and water lines entering the homes. At least six homes caught fire.