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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: 3, Informative) by tangomargarine on Wednesday September 19 2018, @03:07PM (2 children)

    by tangomargarine (667) on Wednesday September 19 2018, @03:07PM (#737057)

    Article should be commended for how consistently they managed to fuck up the scalar.

    12 times too high

    12 times higher

    should have been around 0.5 pounds per square inch (PSI), but readings in the area reached at least 6 PSI — twelve times higher

    6 = 12 * 0.5

    12 is 11 times higher than its rating. You include the base. Alternately, you could say "it was 12 times as high as it should have been."

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  • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 19 2018, @05:40PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 19 2018, @05:40PM (#737131)

    Incorrect, it is 1100% higher, but when dealing with terms like "times higher" it is generally seen as a simple multiply.

    That is, two times higher is 100% higher. One times higher isn't really a thing you ever hear.

    There is some interesting discussion on:
    https://www.englishforums.com/English/ThreeTimesHigherThan/nzqzw/post.htm [englishforums.com]

    But I would say that the general consensus is that 6 times higher == 6 times as high.

    • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Wednesday September 19 2018, @05:47PM

      by tangomargarine (667) on Wednesday September 19 2018, @05:47PM (#737141)

      The general consensus is wrong, then. Words mean defined things. #goddamndescriptivists #getoffmylawn

      --
      "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"