Findings in Johnson County Explosion
The Texas Railroad Commission issued an investigative report which concluded that the operator of a large natural gas pipeline that exploded June 7 in Johnson County - killing one person and injuring eight - committed numerous violations of state regulations.
Among the violations, the commission said, was the failure by Enterprise Products LLC of Houston, to adequately mark the path of the buried 36-inch pipeline to ensure that no excavator would damage it and risk triggering an explosion.
The huge explosion, which could be seen for miles, occurred at about 2:40 PM June 7 when the carbon-steel pipeline was struck by an auger drilling a 48-inch-diameter hole to install high-wire electrical poles. Oklahoma-based C&H Power Line was the contractor installing the power poles for Waco-based Brazos Electric Cooperative.
The explosion occurred on the George's Creek Ranch near the intersecting boundaries of Johnson, Hood and Somervell counties. The report estimated that property damage from the blast was $279,000 and about 172 million cubic feet of natural gas, worth approximately $750,000, was released.
Reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Feds Investigate TX Natural Gas Plant
Fire
Federal and state officials are investigating what cause a fire that killed one worker at a natural gas liquid plant in Mont Belvieu. The plant owner Enterprise Products has paid thousands of dollars in fines since 2004 for serious violations that included at least one other death. The latest incident occurred Tuesday, when fire erupted from what may have been a ruptured pipeline that was carrying natural gas. The remains of worker Rick Shaw were found late Wednesday, more than 24 hours after the fire began. Ramit Plushnick-Masti, Houston Chronicle 02/11/2001. To Read Article:
Houston Chronicle
Gas Explosion Rocks Ohio
A gas pipeline explosion shook residents in eastern Ohio villages, only a day after a house explosion in neighboring PA took the lives of five residents and destroyed several homes in Allentown. A company spokesman (El Paso Corp. which operates Tennessee Gas Pipeline) said the explosion occurred in a 36-inch, buried transmission line that carries natural gas. Associated Press, Forbes 02/11/2001. To Read Article:
Forbes
Natural Gas Explosion in PA Kills 5
A thunderous gas explosion devastated a rowhouse neighborhood in Allentown, PA killing five people, and suspicion fell on an 83-year-old cast-iron gas main. The fiery blast was the latest natural-gas disaster to raise questions about the safety of the nation's aging, 2.5-million-mile network of gas and liquid pipelines. A spokesman for UGI Utilities Inc., said that a routine leak-detection test in that area had come up clean on Tuesday, and that there had been no calls about gas odors before the disaster. Past pipeline explosions have been blamed on such factors as corrosion or damage done by heavy construction equipment. Associated Press, The Washington Post 02/11/2001. To Read Article:
The Washington Post
