NTSB Delays Blast Investigation - (BELLINGHAM)

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NTSB Delays Blast Investigation - (BELLINGHAM) -- The National Transportation Safety Board now says it will NOT finish the factual investigation into the deadly Bellingham pipeline explosion until January. KOMO-TV reports a full report may take several more months to complete. The attorney for the families of Wade King and Stephen Tsiorvas, the two ten-year-olds who died in the June tenth disaster, say the families don't want the pipeline reopened until the safety board issues its final report.

Hmmm...they won't tell us what went wrong until January. Comments?

-TECH32-

-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), August 14, 1999

Answers

The investigation is not being delayed, The investigation take until January to complete. If they had done as the pipeline owner had wanted, they would have closed the case and had the pipeline up and running by now. There is a serious investigation going on about the pipeline and the entire pipeline industry because of the blast. The projected finish in January has nothing to do with Y2K. It just happens to be a date you are overly aware of. What did you think? Thwy would delay the results until after Y2K had caused so many problems that the results of the investigation would be ignored because of all the problems some project?

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), August 14, 1999.

TECH32 -

From what I am hearing and reading, some of the delay is probably due to the fact that 10 of the 12 people who were working on bringing the pipeline back on line after it was shut down for "maintenance and upgrading" have pleaded the 5th on advice of their attorneys therefore slowing the investigation considerably.

By the way, the very first live report that I saw on TV (can't remember if it was KOMO or KING said that they had been doing Y2K upgrading and were testing when this happened. Didn't say it caused it just that that is what they were doing. Never heard that again after that first report. I thought that was rather interesting.

-- (anon@please.net), August 14, 1999.


I heard it was an upgrade, but not necessarily a Y2K one. Upgrades go on all the time.

Did You read in the P.I. On Tuesday Aug 10 the 3 page article on "pipelines America's hidden hazards"?

"Oil companies built most of the lines in the 1940['s through the 1960's.

Both industry and Government data show thar major spills - those of at least 2,100 gallons - occur close to four times a week in the United States.

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), August 14, 1999.


Cherri, take a minute out to read Bonnie Camp's exceptional thread on:

LYING

Your Pal, Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), August 14, 1999.


"Did You read in the P.I. On Tuesday Aug 10 the 3 page article on "pipelines America's hidden hazards"?

Does the article mention the automated underground lines that run from "fuel farms" to the terminals at some major airports? These farms are often located far from the terminal itself, which sometimes places them close to nearby residential areas.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), August 14, 1999.



Yeah, I gotta tell ya folks this one stinks and stinks bad. The idea that NTSB needs to take an additional 5 months all of a sudden (which incidentally puts them past the transition) is a bit disconcerting to me.

Why that long? Why not issue a statement saying why we're being delayed. The fact that there's no reason given leads me to believe that they've already determined the cause of one thing, the computer's failed due to the "upgrade" which was already admitted. My guess is that the "upgrade" contained a New Y2K compliant version.

I think we're now seeing that the administration will go to any length to avoid having the image of three young boys burned to death become associated with Y2K. The NTSB should either issue a succinct statement which clearly denies the problem was caused by Y2K or hide it's head in shame.

For god's sake people, they have access to the computers. Even if the people are taking the fifth they can still access all the data.

Wake up, it's already started.

-- Gordon (g_gecko_69@hotmail.com), August 14, 1999.


Andy, Unlike some people, I do not find it necessary to lie.Cherri

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), August 14, 1999.

Yeah, I gotta tell ya folks this one stinks and stinks bad. The idea that NTSB needs to take an additional 5 months all of a sudden (which incidentally puts them past the transition) is a bit disconcerting to me.

Gordon,

It is understandable why this upset you, but I think you are looking for the wrong problem.

It is not a Y2K problem, but it is a serious life threatening problem that like, Y2K, has been ignored for too long.

You say: "NTSB needs to take an additional 5 months all of a sudden". The fact is that the "NTSB" is not taking an 5 months, They are taking 5 months due to the fact that they have started a criminal investigation.

Why that long? Why not issue a statement saying why we're being delayed. The fact that there's no reason given leads me to believe that they've already determined the cause of one thing, the computer's failed due to the "upgrade" which was already admitted.

There are reasons given, they stated a computer upgrade was part of the situation, not the cause, and no where have they said the computer upgrade was Y2K related.

My guess is that the "upgrade" contained a New Y2K compliant version.

As you state, it is only your guess.

I think we're now seeing that the administration will go to any length to avoid having the image of three young boys burned to death become associated with Y2K. What administration? The office of the President?

The NTSB should either issue a succinct statement which clearly denies the problem was caused by Y2K or hide it's head in shame.

Why should they have to deny it was caused by Y2K? Should they also deny it was caused by sharks? The mofia? L.A. Gangbangers? They are investigating what caused it, not trying to prove the many things that did not cause it.

For god's sake people, they have access to the computers. Even if the people are taking the fifth they can still access all the data.

Exactly! If they had found the problem to be a Y2K update failure, they would be screaming about it. As it is they are screaming about the industries poor practices. That could be why the people are taking the fifth... they have spmething to hide about what they did, or to be more precise, what they did not do.

Wake up, it's already started.

It must be hell to be so parinoid about Y2K that you see Y2K problems in every disasterous thing that accurs. -- Gordon (g_gecko_69@hotmail.com), August 14, 1999.

Cherri. Story below.


Now for the facts and why you DO have good reason to be very afraid.

http://www.seattlep-i.com/pipelines/


In several fatal accidents in recent years, federal investigators have blamed such factors as undetected corrosion, improper inspections and failure to act on known flaws in a pipeline.
"So we have a system that's 30 to 40 years old, poorly maintained and operated and there is no regular program to prevent further deterioration." By one estimate, at least half of all pipelines in the nation date at least 30 years, including the line owned by the Olympic Pipe Line Co. that ruptured and killed three people in Bellingham on June 10. Olympic opened its pipeline in 1965. In states with an oil-exploration industry, many pipelines were built before World War II and even as far back as the 1920s or earlier.

As long as they make money, they continue to operate.


For information purposes only.

With aging lines and lax regulation, potential for accidents is high Tuesday, August 10, 1999 By SCOTT SUNDE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Imagine arriving at the gate for your cross-country flight this morning and seeing a Boeing 707 waiting for you on the tarmac. Yours will be a 1999 flight in a 1950s jet.

That present-day journey on aging technology takes place every day in thiss country. It is occurring at this moment, along the 157,000 miles of pipeline thatt carry the nation's gasoline and other liquid fuels. Unlike airplanes, pipeliness operate 24 hours a day..

The aging pipeline system mixes the dangers of corrosion and fatigue with laxx overview by federal regulators. The result is a fragile system where accidentss are common..

Failure to properly maintain pipelines has taken lives and done extensivee environmental damage..

In several fatal accidents in recent years, federal investigators have blamed suchh factors as undetected corrosion, improper inspections and failure to act on knownn flaws in a pipeline..

Both industry and government data show that major spills - those of at least 2,100 gallons - occur close to four times a week in the United States. In the 1990s, major accidents in pipelines have spilled close to 6 million gallons each year.

Not surprisingly, the nation's pipelines are old and getting older. Oil companiess built most of the lines in the 1940s through the 1960s, first to meet the needs off World War II, then the expanding post-war economy..

"The '50s and '60s were the peak years for pipeline construction," said Bobb Rackleff, a county commissioner in Florida whose battle over pipeline safety ledd him to form the National Pipeline Reform Coalition. "So we have a system that'ss 30 to 40 years old, poorly maintained and operated and there is no regularr program to prevent further deterioration..

By one estimate, at least half of all pipelines in the nation date at least 30 years, including the line owned by the Olympic Pipe Line Co. that ruptured and killed three people in Bellingham on June 10. Olympic opened its pipeline in 1965. In states with an oil-exploration industry, many pipelines were built before World War II and even as far back as the 1920s or earlier.

As long as they make money, they continue to operate..

"When you get down to it, what drives a pipeline is economics. If the cost is tooo high, you can't keep it going. It's an economic rather than a safety decision," saidd Don Deaver, an engineer who worked on pipelines for Exxon for 33 years and whoo now is a consultant..

"It's a case where they run it financially into the ground. It's like owning a carr and driving it until it dies or you're tired of walking home or paying for cabb fare," said Deaver, a consultant to the lawyer who has sued Olympic on behalf off the families of two 10-year-olds killed in the Belligham accident. A teenagerr fishing was also killed..

No limits on age of pipelines

For the pipeline industry as well as federal regulators, age isn't an issue. Indeed, the federal Office of Pipeline Safety doesn't know how old the nation's hazardous liquid pipelines are. Nor does the agency have any regulations that limit the life of a pipeline.

In the late 1970s, the National Transportation Safety Board studied the age off pipelines and tried to determine whether a model could be developed to determinee when a pipeline should be modified or abandoned because of age. The agency,, however, concluded that it couldn't predict the safe service life of pipelines..

Both the industry and regulators say much the same thing: A well-maintained linee can last for decades..

"The term age is a misnomer," said Marty Matheson, general manager of pipeliness for the American Petroleum Institute. "You have an asset that has beenn continuously maintained, in the case of Olympic, for 30 years..

"Pipe that is continuously maintained, it can be acceptable for a long period off time.""

Besides, Matheson said, pipelines aren't as old as they appear. A line built inn 1960 may have much newer parts because of repairs and replacements over thee years..

Olympic Pipe Line, for example, moved the section that ruptured in 1966 andd replaced another small section in the 1970s, but most of the 400-mile line datess to the 1965 opening, company officials say..

The age of the Olympic pipeline has so worried a Bellingham environmental groupp that it asked federal regulators yesterday to order the company to replace pipee in environmentally sensistive areas. The pipeline is made of a type of pipe builtt before 1970 that has had problems with failed seams, forcing federal regulatorss to alert pipeline operators to potential problems in 1988 and 1989..

SAFE Bellingham, the environmental group making the request, said its review of government documents show 275 seam failures on this type of pipe occurred across the country from 1968 through 1988.

Research has shown that older pipelines leak more often. Researchers at the Neww Jersey Institute of Technology determined that for the U.S. Department off Transportation in 1996..

Three years earlier, the California State Fire Marshal concluded much the samee thing. The average age of pipelines in the state was 30 years, but for pipes thatt leaked, the average age was 40 years. Pipelines built before 1940 leaked at 200 times the rate of pipe built in the 1980s. The average age of pipelines builtt before 1940 was almost 70 years, the fire marshal found..

Part of the reason, of course, is that the longer a pipe sits in the ground, the moree it can suffer the effects of rust and corrosion that eat away at it. The longer itt sits in the ground, the more likely it may suffer the fatigue cracks that comee from changes in pressure..

And the older a pipeline is, the better chance that a contractor or utility creww will damage it during digging..

Still, even some critics of pipeline companies and the regulators who police themm acknowledge that the age of a pipeline may not be important..

"If you have steel and it's designed well, it doesn't have aggressive soil andd doesn't have high-pressure loads, it's probably true that it's as good old as new,"" said Lois Epstein, an engineer with the Environmental Defense Fund..

But she added, "If you don't continually maintain it and make sure it's working,, you're going to have problems.""

Corrosion is a constant worry

In a way, a pipeline can be looked at much the same way a fisherman looks at his boat. From the instant it is launched, the boat begins a slow decline toward destruction. The fisherman spends much of his time fighting that process and keeping his boat afloat.

The moment a pipeline is put in the ground, it faces all the perils and more of aa piece of steel surrounded by earth: rust, corrosion, fatigue, earthquakes,, landslides. There are even acid-producing bacteria in the soil that can eat awayy at the pipe. Corrosion is a persistent problem. It causes 60 percent of alll pipeline leaks in California and at least 20 percent nationally. Liquid pipelines,, which are nearly all made of steel, can corrode from inside or out..

And the corrosion can be surprisingly swift. In May 1995, Koch Pipeline Co. didd an internal inspection of a liquid butane line east of Dallas. The inspection pickedd up some areas where the pipe had to be repaired or replaced..

But not a section near the little town of Lively. In the inspection, that section wass deemed to have light corrosion. The line ruptured there in August 1996, eruptingg in flames. Two people were killed, and 25 families were evacuated..

It took just 15 months for the pipe near Lively to corrode badly enough too rupture..

Stray electrical currents also can corrode pipelines. That is apparently what hass been occurring with a small butane line owned by Arco in Whatcom County..

The 6-inch line runs five miles from Arco's Cherry Point refinery to a Texacoo terminal near Ferndale..

An Arco inspection of the line in May 1998 turned up 21 anomalies of reducedd thickness in pipe walls from 10 percent to 80 percent, according to documentss reviewed at the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission..

"The inspection found defects on the butane line that could have resulted inn pipeline failures if not corrected," the commission noted..

Arco repaired the worst damage on the low-pressure line by putting a sleeve overr the pipe..

Arco installed the pipeline in the mid-1980s, said company spokesman Scottt Walker. It runs past the Intalco aluminum plant, which uses large amounts off electricity. Stray currents from the plant are apparently causing the corrosion,, Walker said..

The company plans another internal inspection of the line next year..

Safeguards may not be effective

Pipeline operators guard against corrosion by coating pipes - in much the same way painting metal lawn furniture guards against rust - and by using cathodic protection, an electrical process that inhibits corrosion.

The federal Office of Pipeline Safety, which regulates interstate lines, requiress both coatings and cathodic protection. But the NTSB noted in a special reportt three years ago that coated and cathodically protected lines continue to leak, inn part because such protections may not be as effective as once thought..

The NTSB also has been heavily critical of the Office of Pipeline Safety'ss efforts to get companies to do a better job of making sure lines are intact..

The office requires tests at least every 15 months to make sure cathodicc protection is adequate, though it doesn't define what adequate is. It requiress pipes that are dug up to be inspected for corrosion, and companies to inspectt rights of way at least every two weeks..

Those inspections are done by air. Olympic Pipe Line Co. flies over its right off way about once a week..

Companies must make new or replaced pipelines big enough to allow internall inspection devices - known as "smart pigs" - to pass through. But the federall government doesn't require smart pigging of pipelines..

Olympic runs smart pigs through its lines about every five years..

Another way to test a pipeline's integrity is hydrostatic testing, which involvess running water through the line at high pressure. The last time Olympic did aa hydrostatic test of the line that ruptured in Bellingham was in 1966..

Federal regulators have yet to adopt NTSB suggestions to define adequatee cathodic protection or set regular intervals for corrosion and damage protection.. The Office of Pipeline Safety said this summer it is studying a recommendationn from Congress to require more frequent inspections in heavily populated areas orr environmentally sensitive spots..

A frustrated NTSB concluded in a special report on liquid pipelines in 1996 thatt federal regulators have "failed to take effective and timely action to adresss corrosion control, inspection and test of pipelines and methods to limit thee release of product from failed pipelines.""

The NTSB is a watchdog agency that makes recommendations to regulatoryy agencies, but has no power to force their adoption..

Critics say regulators have too few resources to do a good job and tend to lett pipeline companies off the hook..

At the same time, some pipeline companies themselves effectively allow leaks too occur by not maintaining lines or looking the other way when problems occur,, critics say..

"Cathodic protection and coating may all be well and good," said Rackleff, thee county commissioner in Florida who has become a pipeline-safety advocate. "Itt may be theoretically possible to keep an old pipeline leak-proof, but the realityy is that they aren't maintained.""

Accidents testify to safety lapses

Examples of accidents involving pipelines that were not pr

operly maintained are not hard to find:

A corroded line carrying naphtha (a flammable, volatile oily liquid) ruptured in Long Beach, Calif., in December 1980. The naphtha sprayed 20 feet in the air and flowed into gutters. A subsequent fire injured five people and damaged or destroyed 12 homes.

In July 1986, a gasoline pipeline ruptured in Mounds View, Minn., resulting in a fire that killed two people. The NTSB concluded that the pipeline company failed to act on known deficiencies in the pipeline.

In May 1989, a gasoline pipeline ruptured, resulting in a fire that killed two people and destroyed 11 homes in San Bernardino, Calif. Thirteen days before the rupture, a train derailed in the area. The NTSB concluded that the operator of the pipeline failed to properly inspect the pipeline for damage after the derailment and cleanup that involved earth-moving equipment.

Near midnight on June 26, 1996, a 36-inch line carrying fuel oil ruptured and released about 958,000 gallons into the Reedy River in South Carolina. In April, the pipe had been checked for corrosion at the spot that would later rupture. The NTSB concluded that the inspection was not done properly. An engineer determined that the pipe was 0.18- to 0.2-inch thick, which was deemed acceptable. In fact, the pipe was 0.069-inch thick, according to the NTSB.

Industry represent-atives, from Olympic Pipe Line to those in trade groups, alll say that companies have no incentive to allow their pipes to leak. Lost fuel is lostt money, they say..

But critics such as Epstein of the Environ-mental Defense Fund say it's not thatt simple. "Transporting by pipeline is very cheap. If you lose some petroleum, it'ss still very cheap," she said..

Pipelines don't face the liability requirements of oil tankers and barges, she said,, giving them little incentive to be more vigilant..

Even if pipeline companies are vigilant about protecting leaks, their effortss frequently fail..

The simple truth is that pipelines continue to leak and leak often. The Office off Pipeline Safety records a leak of 2,100 gallons nearly 200 times a year. Olympicc has had at least 43 leaks since the line was opened in 1965..

Diane Hovey, an engineer with a Sacramento, Calif., company has reviewed yearss worth of data on pipeline accidents and concluded in published studies that thee industry may have gone as far as it can to prevent leaks..

"What we found over time is the number of accidents remains relatively constantt and the number of miles of pipeline remains constant," she said. "Whatever we'ree doing to try to reduce leaks, we may be at the statistical minimum.""

Hovey suggests that pipeline companies may want to pay greater attention to howw they deal with the leaks that will inevitably occur. That would includee leak-detection systems, which Hovey is involved in providing to pipelinee companies, as well as better staff training..

Early leak detection is vital

For sure, detecting a leak quickly can reduce environmental damage and perhaps save lives.

In May 1996, for example, a gasoline pipeline near Gramercy, La., ruptured andd spilled 475,000 gallons, including runoff on marshlands and a river. It was ann hour after the spill began before controllers realized it. Three and a half hourss after that, crews managed to close manual valves on either side of the rupture..

Federal regulators noted shortly after the Bellingham accident that a valve nearby either didn't work or failed to operate properly, allowing as much ass 130,000 more gallons of gasoline to spill. About 277,000 gallons spilled in all..

Olympic disputes that, saying subsequent tests showed that the valve workedd properly..

Olympic uses a computerized leak-detection system that combines pressure andd other data to determine whether there is a leak. It is supposed to detect leaks off 1 percent of flow or even less..

Such a system is used by some but not all pipeline companies. Many companiess object to sensitive leak-detection systems, saying that false alarms cause costlyy shutdowns..

Other systems include sensors that can detect the presence of hydrocarbons,, indicating petroleum leaks, but those are considered too expensive for anythingg but limited use..

The Office of Pipeline Safety does not require pipeline companies to havee leak-detection systems. Indeed, the office doesn't even require computerizedd pipeline-control systems. Federal regulators do require that leak-detectionn systems should meet standards set out by the American Petroleum Institute..

Most companies do use computer systems to operate and monitor their pipelines.. Those systems may provide some leak detection, experts say..

For nearly 30 years, the NTSB also has urged federal regulators to focus onn valves that would be triggered by possible leaks and close automatically. Butt regulators have not yet adopted the suggestion..

Some industry representatives are cautious of automatic systems. They sayy sudden closures of a pipeline could cause a backwash of fuel, increased pressuree in the line and possible rupture..

In fact, in the Olympic accident June 10, a valve closed near Anacortes but twoo refineries north of Bellingham continued to pour gasoline in the pipeline. Thatt increased pressure in a line that already may have been weakened by constructionn damage, a defect or corrosion..

Then the pipeline ruptured..

If Olympic's leak-detection system worked to detect that rupture, controllerss apparently didn't know it. Olympic is still trying to find out whether the systemm did detect the leak..

But at the time, the company reverted to an older detection system..

It sent out an employee to check on reports of gasoline smells..


P-I reporter Scott Sunde can be reached at 206-448-8331 or scottsunde@seattle-pi.com


-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), August 14, 1999.

Blue off

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), August 14, 1999.

Blue off

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), August 14, 1999.


Cherri,

Please, your killing my eyes.

-- Moore Dinty moore (not@thistime.com), August 15, 1999.


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