Yet another big gas explosion.

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Billybob

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Utility worker pierced pipe before Mass. gas blast

[A natural gas explosion that injured 18 people and damaged 42 buildings in Springfield's entertainment district was blamed Sunday on a utility worker who accidentally punctured a high-pressure pipeline while looking for a leak.

State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said the Friday night blast in one of New England's largest cities was caused by "human error." He didn't name the Columbia Gas Co. worker who pierced the pipe while responding to reports of a gas leak.

The worker damaged the underground pipe while using a metal probe to locate the source of the leak, Coan said. A flood of gas then built up in a building that housed a strip club, and some kind of spark touched off the blast, officials said....]

http://news.yahoo.com/utility-worke...RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3
 

okietool

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Accidental punctures of gas lines is a real danger, especially out in the open country. Those tend to be marked only at road crossings and the pipe lines are higher pressure.It ususally happens during some construction project and often results in the death of the equipment operator.

I wonder what they consider to be high pressure in the article. And why were they looking for a leak in a line that was still active. That sounds like the death at the pinnacle of the Safety Triangle.


I agree some of it is probably aging infrastructure also.
 

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