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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
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Wednesday September 19 2018, @12:39AM (1 child)
Rated != Intended to hold.
The insulation on new romex that's installed in houses here in the US is good to at least 300V, some rated to 600V, even though it only supplies 120V. It would therefore NOT be misleading to say, "Owner electrocuted by 4x the voltage that his 120V circuit was intended to supply" if I was somehow shocked by 480V because of some mishap by the power company (relatively impossible, but just saying.)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by RS3 on Wednesday September 19 2018, @03:21PM
I understand (well) your analogy, but it's not the same. As I mention in an above comment, buildings have gas pressure regulators, but not voltage regulators / limiters. There is no required thing in building electrical systems which could limit voltage. "Surge suppressors" / line conditioners exist, including large / whole-building ones, but they're not required nor common nor "standard operating practice".
I'm beginning to wonder if they did not have gas pressure regulators at each house, but relied on one big one for many homes. I hope that's not the case. Due to varying demand, pressures could vary at the appliance, and could drop enough to cause a flame-out, but the appliance would continue to vent raw gas into the home, and boom.