I’m surprised they didn’t drill into a private pipeline with no corrosion protection or replacement plan. Seems like the steam lines were well past their End of Life. No exterior coating, no cathodic protection.
Given the UGI tee was the source of the leak, and Palmer’s pipes were merely paths for the gas to travel, was the lack of registration and location to One Call germane to the incident, since they weren’t struck?
I believe the logic is that private assets could unknowingly be damaged during excavation, which could lead to future failures. If the steam line was compromised by the service line replacement excavation, and that led to a point failure on the steam line, which then degraded the (not so) abandoned service line, then marking of the private utility prior to an excavation may have avoided a future incident.
Member Inman had the best questions but it quite obvious none of the members have any experience in the natural gas utility industry or as first responders for the gas utility industry . Having worked as a first responder/ Service technician /Gas fitter 35 years running over 10,000 gas odor complaints in my career I have a lot more questions they may want to ask next time. #1 what was the gas indicator readings (CGI Readings) in the sanitary sewers , Open Conduits,inside curb box or boxes,over services ,over main and inside adjacent buildings, not damaged by the explosion ?( this would be the information I would request from the first men on the scene from the gas utility and the required notes they would have recorded on computer or legal and claims documentations). #2 Why did you install a polyethylene gas line in the vicinity of an underground steam line , knowing good and well the polyethylene plastic stands a damn good chance of melting or at least deterioration ? (Why not install coated steel with cathodic protection?). #3 I would like a list of every gas utility employee that stepped foot on that property within the last two years and a copy of their reports why they were there , repairs they made & CGI readings . #4 when the old underground services were abandoned was any fill of concrete or expanding foam injected into the abandoned services, so they could not act as a conduit for migrating gas, if the new gas main ever leaked ?. #5 it’s quite obvious to me the leak has been going on for quite some time with the saturation of gas in the soil taking over a month to dissipate 🤷🏻♂️. With substantial gas readings ( CGI readings )in the soil why would the gas company ever leave without air jacking that soil till the readings subsided? & #6 does the NTSB have any retired gas utility employees to help in the investigations when incidents like this occur ?
Huge thank you to everyone at the NTSB and thier tireless mission for safety
11:42 overview begins
2:47 End of safety briefing
4:48 end of Chairman‘s sympathy and pledge to push for safety changes.
Love the chair’s holiday gift guide for this year.
Smelling gas and remaining in the building for another 35 minutes?
I’m surprised they didn’t drill into a private pipeline with no corrosion protection or replacement plan. Seems like the steam lines were well past their End of Life. No exterior coating, no cathodic protection.
Anybody got the cliff notes?
4:17:32 for the draft probable cause
Given the UGI tee was the source of the leak, and Palmer’s pipes were merely paths for the gas to travel, was the lack of registration and location to One Call germane to the incident, since they weren’t struck?
I believe the logic is that private assets could unknowingly be damaged during excavation, which could lead to future failures. If the steam line was compromised by the service line replacement excavation, and that led to a point failure on the steam line, which then degraded the (not so) abandoned service line, then marking of the private utility prior to an excavation may have avoided a future incident.
Too bad NTSB doesn't have enforcement authority.
Member Inman had the best questions but it quite obvious none of the members have any experience in the natural gas utility industry or as first responders for the gas utility industry . Having worked as a first responder/ Service technician /Gas fitter 35 years running over 10,000 gas odor complaints in my career I have a lot more questions they may want to ask next time. #1 what was the gas indicator readings (CGI Readings) in the sanitary sewers , Open Conduits,inside curb box or boxes,over services ,over main and inside adjacent buildings, not damaged by the explosion ?( this would be the information I would request from the first men on the scene from the gas utility and the required notes they would have recorded on computer or legal and claims documentations). #2 Why did you install a polyethylene gas line in the vicinity of an underground steam line , knowing good and well the polyethylene plastic stands a damn good chance of melting or at least deterioration ? (Why not install coated steel with cathodic protection?). #3 I would like a list of every gas utility employee that stepped foot on that property within the last two years and a copy of their reports why they were there , repairs they made & CGI readings . #4 when the old underground services were abandoned was any fill of concrete or expanding foam injected into the abandoned services, so they could not act as a conduit for migrating gas, if the new gas main ever leaked ?. #5 it’s quite obvious to me the leak has been going on for quite some time with the saturation of gas in the soil taking over a month to dissipate 🤷🏻♂️. With substantial gas readings ( CGI readings )in the soil why would the gas company ever leave without air jacking that soil till the readings subsided? & #6 does the NTSB have any retired gas utility employees to help in the investigations when incidents like this occur ?