Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Tuesday September 18 2018, @09:59PM   Printer-friendly
from the Big-oops-made-big-booms dept.

Pipe pressure before gas explosions was 12 times too high

The pressure in natural gas pipelines prior to a series of explosions and fires in Massachusetts last week was 12 times higher than it should have been, according to a letter from the state's U.S. senators to executives of the utility in charge of the pipelines.

Democratic U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey sent the letter Monday seeking answers about the explosions from the heads of Columbia Gas, the company that serves the communities of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, and NiSource, the parent company of Columbia Gas.

"The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has reported that the pressure in the Columbia Gas system should have been around 0.5 pounds per square inch (PSI), but readings in the area reached at least 6 PSI — twelve times higher than the system was intended to hold," the letter said.

The pressure spike registered in a Columbia Gas control room in Ohio, the senators said in the letter, which requests a reply by Wednesday.

See also: Columbia Gas pledges $10M toward relief efforts in Lawrence, Andover, North Andover

Previously: 60-80 Homes Burn; Gas Line "Incident" in Northern Massachusetts


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday September 18 2018, @10:49PM (23 children)

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Tuesday September 18 2018, @10:49PM (#736793) Journal

    We could use more grandstanding of this sort, about real problems that are serious and really happened!

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +4  
       Insightful=3, Touché=1, Total=4
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 1, Redundant) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday September 18 2018, @10:52PM (22 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday September 18 2018, @10:52PM (#736796) Homepage Journal

    From people who can do fuck-all about them, care fuck-all about them, and are only doing so to slime their way to a few more votes? Yeah, that's exactly what we need.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:13PM (11 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:13PM (#736802)

      Well since that is all we've got I'll gladly take a senator bothering to give a shit about the problem. Maybe they really care, maybe they really don't, but if it helps generate enough noise to get something done then you can go fuck yourself. Well, more than usual and with something rusty preferably.

      • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:32PM (8 children)

        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:32PM (#736813) Homepage Journal

        It won't help shit. They're sucking attention from the people who have actual authority and responsibility to do something about it. Why cover a mayor or governor when a senator is giving you pomp and circumstance? Who cares if they're utterly impotent in the matter?

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
        • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday September 19 2018, @07:48AM (7 children)

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 19 2018, @07:48AM (#736943) Journal

          To be maybe a little more fair - congress and the senate has authority. They can, in theory at least, pass laws regulating the gas distribution industry. They *could* mandate that gas lines and accessories are inspected every year, and that all gas distribution be made safe for 20, 60, or even 120 PSI. Congress is pretty nearly the "ultimate" authority in the US, and they could do a lot of things, if they weren't divided by petty partisan politics.

          Of course, none of that is ever going to happen. I'm merely pointing out that congress does have authority to do damned near anything it wants. And, if it really wants to do anything that it lacks authority for, it can do one of two things:

          1. Make some mealy-mouthed wishy washy explanation that some puppet judges will go along with, as they did with interstate commerce laws.
          2. Call for and push for a constitutional convention, which will give them the authority they demand.

          • (Score: 3, Informative) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday September 19 2018, @11:19AM (6 children)

            by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday September 19 2018, @11:19AM (#736984) Homepage Journal

            No, they really don't. It would be a huge stretch of EPA authority to do much of anything about a specific local utility. Likewise any other federal power granted to congress. Even then, they can only do something about next time; this time is constitutionally beyond their reach.

            --
            My rights don't end where your fear begins.
            • (Score: 2) by NewNic on Wednesday September 19 2018, @06:47PM (1 child)

              by NewNic (6420) on Wednesday September 19 2018, @06:47PM (#737169) Journal

              I don't believe you can say this with any authority.

              The Interstate Commerce clause is like Schroedinger's box. You cannot tell what's in it until the Supreme Court rules and the court has been pretty inconsistent in the past.

              --
              lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
              • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday September 20 2018, @02:36AM

                by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Thursday September 20 2018, @02:36AM (#737350) Homepage Journal

                Oh I can say what's in it. Anyone who reads it and doesn't feel like lying to themselves can easily tell it's been abused like a motherfucker every time SCOTUS got the chance. With authority though? Only the authority every other American has.

                --
                My rights don't end where your fear begins.
            • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday September 19 2018, @10:06PM (3 children)

              by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 19 2018, @10:06PM (#737259) Journal

              But, that's the beauty of the system. Congress may not address some specific utility service, in some specific town/city, directly. But, they CAN use that city as an example of how horribly things can go wrong. From there, they CAN pass specific laws which will be applicable nationwide. Or, they CAN send some sternly worded letters to various people around the country, demanding that the EPA, and the various states, and/or the various cities "take action, before we do". In the long run, it's probably more efficient to send those sternly worded letters. They scare hell out of (almost) everyone who gets them, and THOSE people are actually in a position to know how to improve things. That, or they appointed the people who actually know.

              • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday September 20 2018, @02:38AM (2 children)

                by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Thursday September 20 2018, @02:38AM (#737352) Homepage Journal

                You're really going to sit there and argue that Congress should abuse its position to usurp via proxy powers specifically denied them by the constitution? I thought better of you.

                --
                My rights don't end where your fear begins.
                • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 20 2018, @09:12AM (1 child)

                  by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 20 2018, @09:12AM (#737415) Journal

                  Negative.

                  argue that Congress should

                  I am, instead, arguing that congress may do such a thing, as it has already done with the interstate commerce bullshit, as opposed to should. Congress is in a position that they have already committed unconstitutional acts, and there is little to prevent them from doing similar things in the future.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 19 2018, @03:17AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 19 2018, @03:17AM (#736899)

        Just like when they spent all that time investigating steroid use in baseball.
        https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20050318friday.html [nytimes.com]

    • (Score: 5, Touché) by bob_super on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:13PM (9 children)

      by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:13PM (#736803)

      "Dear elected official, 80 homes just burnt down in your constituency, apparently because someone fucked up the pressure of the explosive gas they deliver to populated areas by an order of magnitude and no safety mechanism tripped."
      "Fuck off, TMB said it's not my problem!"

      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:33PM (8 children)

        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:33PM (#736814) Homepage Journal

        s/Fuck off.*/Call the mayor or governor, I have no authority over it./

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:42PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:42PM (#736821)

          Pretty sure a mayor will "hop to it" when a senator pomes their head in.

          But hey, that is talking about humanity and not PERL scripts so i understand your confusion.

        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by aristarchus on Wednesday September 19 2018, @12:02AM (5 children)

          by aristarchus (2645) on Wednesday September 19 2018, @12:02AM (#736830) Journal

          I was under the impression that TMB was in charge of high-pressure gas. Was I mistaken? Is this another situation where we need to let the market decide who explodes, and keep government hands off our private exploded pieces?

          • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 19 2018, @07:54AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 19 2018, @07:54AM (#736945)

            Once again, we see Aristarchus trolling a conversation, with some mindless sycophant partisan modding him up repeatedly.

            Dear Mindless Partisan,

            You are a worse problem than the idiot Aristarchus. Kindly eliminate yourself from the earth, ASAP.

              - Concerned Soylentil

          • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday September 19 2018, @12:06PM

            by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday September 19 2018, @12:06PM (#737007) Journal

            Something tells me he never lets his gas build up to high pressures.

            --
            Washington DC delenda est.
          • (Score: 3, Funny) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday September 19 2018, @02:37PM (1 child)

            by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Wednesday September 19 2018, @02:37PM (#737045) Journal

            I dunno if "high-pressure gas" is exactly what the guy's dealing in, Ari...something tangentially related, maybe, and for sure under high pressure though.

            --
            I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...