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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


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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:15PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 18 2018, @11:15PM (#736805)

    but at least when you unexpectedly blow your load there is no one around to worry about it

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