The aging natural gas pipeline network in the USA has experienced another pipeline explosion. This explosion has killed 4 persons. Authorities are trying to determine whether an determine whether a 83-year-old cast-iron gas main or its feeder lines was the source of the explosion. A news article mention the following:
"The fiery blast late Wednesday night was the latest deadly natural-gas disaster in recent months to raise questions about the safety of the nation's aging, 2.5-million-mile network of gas and liquid pipelines.The explosion, which flattened a pair of rowhouses and set fire to a block of homes, occurred in an area where the underground gas main lacked shut-off valves. It took utility workers five hours of toil in the freezing cold to punch through ice, asphalt and concrete and seal the 12-inch main with foam, finally cutting off the flow of gas that fed the raging flames.An Associated Press investigation published Saturday found that many pipelines around the country are not equipped with remotely operated or automatic shut-off valves that can quickly stop the flow of gas in an accident, even though federal safety officials have recommended such devices to industry and regulators for decades".
Read the article in this link.
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