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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 Fluffeh on Wednesday September 19 2018, @01:32AM
Pretty sure the rest of your post just said that exactly.
When you start looking at old infrastructure, it really is quite amazing how few alarms and or safety features are in place, the older, the less chance of this type of thing. Given how pressure works in localised environments the pressure in one place doesn't mean the same pressure in others. Even a tiny system like a workshop compressed air system has large fluctuations in use -wWhen using an air sprayer with some wood finish, you can hear the air still rushing through pipes for a few seconds after flipping the trigger from spray to nothing. Imagine that on a city/county scale instead of a single workshop!