Natural gas explosions have been making headlines recently, raising questions about public safety and concerns about their increasing frequency and causes.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, a massive natural gas explosion occurred in Sissonville, West Virginia, destroying four homes and causing significant damage to at least five others.\u00a0 There were no fatalities.<\/p>\n
The source of the explosion was a 20-inch gas transmission pipeline owned by Columbia Gas.\u00a0 Witnesses said the explosion sounded like a plane crash.\u00a0 The fire burned so hot that it damaged a section of Interstate 77, forcing its closure.\u00a0 Guardrails along the highway melted while utility poles burned, and debris was scattered across a wide area.\u00a0 A cause has not yet been determined.<\/p>\n
The explosion in West Virginia is just one in a recent series of gas explosions that have occurred across the country.\u00a0 From California to Indianapolis to Massachusetts and now West Virginia, the rash of explosions and fires continues.\u00a0 Are these explosions the result of an aging pipeline system and\/or human error, or is there something else going on?<\/p>\n
Investigators in Springfield, Massachusetts, the site of a huge natural gas explosion that injured 18 people and damaged 42 structures on November 23rd<\/sup>, say the cause of that explosion was \u201chuman error.\u201d\u00a0 In Indianapolis, where two people died on November 10 as a result of a massive natural gas explosion which caused approximately $4.4 million in damages, investigators have shifted their focus to homicide, citing \u201cremote detonation\u201d as the leading theory of how the blast occurred.\u00a0 No suspects have been named, however.<\/p>\n And while these high-profile stories are capturing headlines, a report by NaturalGasWatch.org<\/a> indicates that these types of leaks and explosions occur on a regular basis.\u00a0 On December 1, a natural gas transmission pipeline owned by Pacific Gas & Electric ruptured near Stockton, California, forcing residents from their homes.\u00a0 A cause has not been determined.<\/p>\n On November 30, a family in Crawfordsville, Indiana, was forced to leave their home after a natural gas leak.\u00a0 Investigators identified a gas transmission pipeline as the source of that leak.<\/p>\n In Cowley County, Kansas, a \u201csignificant\u201d natural gas leak \u201cforced a five-hour road closure\u201d on November 28.\u00a0 Investigators have not yet determined the source of that leak.<\/p>\n A \u201cmassive\u201d gas leak forced the \u201cevacuation of area residents in Richmond, Virginia, on November 27.\u201d\u00a0 Although the cause of the leak has not been determined, it supposedly \u201coccurred when an aging natural gas line ruptured.\u201d<\/p>\n On November 21, an explosion destroyed one home and damaged another in Newark, New Jersey.\u00a0 Although a cause has not been determined, natural gas was \u201creportedly to blame.\u201d<\/p>\n There were two natural gas explosions on November 20.\u00a0 One occurred at a natural gas processing facility near Price, Utah, damaging several buildings and critically injuring two workers.\u00a0 Investigators blame a \u201cspike in pressure\u201d as the cause of that explosion.\u00a0 The other took place in Lewiston, Idaho, when a construction worker accidentally touched off a blast with his backhoe.<\/p>\n And in Marlborough, Massachusetts, a man died from \u201cinjuries suffered as a result of a natural gas explosion\u201d which destroyed his home on October 28.\u00a0 According to reports, his gas service had been turned off since June.<\/p>\n It appears that natural gas leaks and explosions occur with \u201castonishing regularity wherever natural gas pipelines have been laid,\u201d according to NaturalGasWatch.org.<\/p>\n A study published<\/a> by researchers at Boston and Duke Universities found thousands of natural gas leaks in the streets of Boston alone.\u00a0 The scientists reported finding \u201cmethane concentrations reflecting 3,356 leaks in the natural gas distribution system in Boston.\u201d\u00a0 In an interview with NaturalGasWatch.org, lead researcher Dr. Nathan Phillips said that \u201cWe stopped measuring because we ran out of time, but if we had kept going, we could have documented thousands or tens of thousands of leaks.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Phillips\u2019 words are less than reassuring considering the number of gas pipelines crisscrossing the country and running through cities and neighborhoods everywhere.\u00a0 According to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration<\/a>, \u201cThe U.S. has more than 2 million miles of pipelines \u2014 enough to circle the earth about 100 times.\u201d<\/p>\n America\u2019s infrastructure is aging and failing.\u00a0 With more than 60 percent of the nation\u2019s gas pipelines being at least 40 years old or older, it\u2019s a recipe for disaster.\u00a0 And regardless of the cause (aging pipelines, human error, Earth movements), these types of incidents are increasing.<\/p>\n \u201cIn reality, there is a major pipeline incident every other day in this country,\u201d says Carl Weimer, Executive Director, Pipeline Safety Trust.\u00a0 Perhaps America\u2019s Natural Gas Alliance needs to rethink its slogan of \u201cCheap, clean, safe natural gas.\u201d<\/p>\n Link to article in print:<\/p>\n