Category Archives: Safety

Brenham, Texas, and the highly dangerous character of gas and its tendency to escape

June 18, 2014Explosion, Florida, Hazards, Law, Leak, LNG, Safety, Texas, Washington CountyBrenham, cavern, explosion, Hazards, John S. Quarterman, Law, leak, LNG, Safety, SpectraBusters, Texas, Washington CountyJohn S. Quarterman

Imagine the fireball in 1992 in Brenham, Texas on your land or next to your children’s school or in Riviera Beach or Tampa or Jacksonville. The pipeline companies that stored too much “natural” gas in a cavern 2,000 feet below ground that leaked and exploded and killed and injured people, incinerated cattle, and destroyed houses got off on some charges because they believed their own PR that their inherently dangerous product was safe. Will you accept a pipeline company’s bet that a yard-wide pipeline only a few feet below ground won’t leak or that an LNG storage or export facility in a highly populated area won’t leak? Or should we get on with clean, fast, safe, solar power in the Sunshine State and everywhere else?

A retired Air Force Colonel with an advanced degree in nuclear physics, Walter Carss, was an eye witness to the explosion. Carss said the countryside was suddenly illuminated by a brilliant flash of light. Turning in his chair, Carss looked in the direction of the cavern. There, he observed an enormous fireball billowing skyward. As the fireball cooled, it began to turn into a huge pillar of grey smoke. Carss then noticed a visible shock wave racing across the rural landscape. He watched the shock wave rip Continue reading Brenham, Texas, and the highly dangerous character of gas and its tendency to escape →

Say no to pipeline bait and switch –Marihelen Wheeler

June 1, 2014Environment, FERC, Florida, Gilchrist County, Hazards, Law, Marion County, Safety, Suwannee County, Texas, Waterbait and switch, Congress, environment, FERC, FL-03, Florida, Gilchrist County, Hazards, House of Representatives, John S. Quarterman, Law, Marihelen Wheeler, Marion County, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Suwannee County, Texas, WaterJohn S. Quarterman

This op-ed spells out actions by Sabal Trail and FERC, that it interprets as deception, and it concludes we can all say no to that unnecessary pipeline. I’ve added a few pictures and links.

Marihelen Wheeler wrote an op-ed in the Ocala StarBanner 1 June 2014, Floridians can and must say no to gas pipeline,

It should be called “psychological bait and switch.” This tactic is being used by corporations trying to engage and solicit residents’ support for controversial projects that will negatively impact those residents. Among the most recent projects is the proposed Sabal Trail gas pipeline that will disturb about 13,670 acres of Florida land.

A company’s first move is to propose an idea that is so distasteful that, Continue reading Say no to pipeline bait and switch –Marihelen Wheeler →

Pipeline compressor station map

May 13, 2014Explosion, Hazards, Leak, PHMSA, SafetyCompressor stations, explosion, Hazards, interstate, intrastate, John S. Quarterman, leak, maps, NPMS, PHMSA, PODS, Safety, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

How big is the U.S. pipeline network? 510,917 miles, according to PHMSA’s National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS).

According to the Q4 2010 newsletter of Pipeline Open Data Standarrd (pods.org, you can get this map of pipelines and compressor stations through PHMSA’s National Pipeline Mapping System. Should it be suprising when some of these compressor stations leak or some of this half-million miles of pipe explodes?

Has anybody ever heard of an exploding solar panel?

-jsq

More Williams Company Surprise incidents

May 13, 2014Explosion, Hazards, Leak, PHMSA, Safetyabnormal operation, accident, Alan Armstrong, American Petroleum Institute, API, explosion, Gomer Pyle, Hazards, leak, PHMSA, Safety, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Williams CompanyJohn S. Quarterman

Apparently pipeline companies are the last to know that pipelines can be dangerous, even after Williams Co’s four strikes this year. Maybe they should stop believing their own propaganda. And why do pipeline companies get four strikes and they’re still not out, anyway?

Dory Hippauf wrote for No Fracking Way 8 May 2014 Williams Co Has Gomer Pyle Moment,

Recently, the Williams Company, the 4th largest pipeline operator in the US, experienced 3 accidents in rapid succession between Feb-Apr 2014.

As reported by Bloomberg news “Williams Reviews Safety After Fire, Explosions at Gas Plants“, May 1, 2014:

“Certainly, this has come as a big surprise to our organization,” Chief Executive Officer Alan Armstrong said on a conference call with analysts today. “We are conducting very thorough investigations into each incident to determine if there’s any common or root cause.”

Why it comes as a big surprise to CEO Armstrong is, well, surprising. It’s well known that pipelines and related infrastructure do have spills, leaks, fires and explosions resulting in property damage, injuries and deaths. At a time when fossil fuel corporations are expanding and building new infrastructures and pipelines, safety, not profits, should be the foremost consideration.

Follow the link for the list of Williams Co. incidents, which includes many more than these few big ones from 2014:

That’s four “abnormal operations” or accidents so far in 2014 alone. In baseball only three strikes and Williams would be out. Why does a pipeline company get nothing but PR out of all this?

What’s an actual accident or “abnormal operations” anyway? PHMSA uses definitions from the American Petroleum Institute (API), and requires pipeline operators to put out propaganda according to API guidelines. Maybe Williams CEO Alan Armstrong actually believed that API propaganda.

The No Fracking Way article also notes:

According to Tom Droege, Williams Co. spokesperson, as stated in an email, over the last five years, Williams has had a lower rate of incidents on its pipelines than the industry average, he said, citing federal statistics.

Hm, so if Williams has fewer than the industry average, where does Spectra rank?

Droege failed to mention the industrial average was 1.6 pipeline incidents per day, so what does a “lower rate of incidents” really mean?

And who ever heard of a solar panel leak or explosion? What say we cancel the pipeline and go straight to faster, cheaper, safer, job-creating solar power.

-jsq

PHMSA abnormal vs. accident

May 11, 2014Explosion, Law, Leak, PHMSA, Safetyabnormal operating condition, abnormal operations, accident, American Petroleum Institute, API, damage, death, explosion, Hazard, injury, John S. Quarterman, Law, leak, loss, PHMSA, Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Agency, propaganda, property, regulatory capture, Safety, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

Apparently an actual fire or explosion may (or may not) count as an accident according to PHMSA, but there’s a huge gap in PHMSA’s definitions: they don’t seem to say they apply to methane. And guess whose Public Awareness Program PHMSA requires pipeline operators to follow?

According to PHMSA’s Glossary and Definitions,

Accident
A release of the hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide transported that results in any of the following:

explosion or fire not intentionally set by the operator.
release of Continue reading PHMSA abnormal vs. accident →

Ohio town fracked by well leak

May 11, 2014Environment, Ethics, Fracking, Law, Morgan County, Ohio, Safety, WaterBeverly, Center for Health, CHEJ, clear and present danger, Colorado, drilling, environment, Environment & Justice, Ethics, fix, fossil fuel, Fracking, GA DNR, Jack Shaner, John S. Quarterman, Law, Lois Gibbs, Mark Bruce, methane, Morgan County, mud, needle, ODNR, Ohio, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Environmental Council, oil, PDC Energy, Petroleum Development Corporation, property rights, regulations, rules, Safety, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, Superfund, Teresa Mills, Water, wellJohn S. Quarterman

A fossil fuel needle desperately trying to get another fix hit an artery and leaked oily mud and methane into a creek near Beverly, Ohio, forcing evacuation of people nearby. Once again, state agencies had to deal with a problem caused by a private company. This collateral damage drew in yet another fracking opponent, this time one founded by an opponent of the first Superfund.

Dean Narciso wrote for the Columbus Dispatch 8 May 2014, Shale well leaks during drilling process, forcing evacuations in Morgan County,

A Morgan County shale well being drilled in preparation for fracking began leaking on Sunday, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents.

State and federal environmental emergency-response teams and the drilling company finally contained the mess yesterday, but not before it reached a nearby creek.

The leak was discovered Continue reading Ohio town fracked by well leak →

Food and Water Watch against LNG exports

May 10, 2014Climate Change, Economy, Fracking, Hazards, Health, LNG, SafetyClimate Change, Economy, Energy and Commerce, Energy and Power, Food and Water Watch, Fracking, Government, H.R. 6, Hazards, Health, House of Representatives, John S. Quarterman, LNG, Safety, SpectraBustersJohn S. Quarterman

FWW has been on the case against H.R. 6 that would authorize LNG exports to all WTO member countries since that bill passed the subcommittee in early April, before it passed the main committee April 30th.

Food & Water Watch press release 9 April 2014, House Subcommittee’s Approval of LNG Exports Means More Money for Big Oil and Gas, More Fracking In U.S. Communities: Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director, Wenonah Hauter,

Washington, D.C. — “On Wednesday, the U.S. House’s Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power voted in favor of a bill to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) abroad under the guise of aiding Ukraine. But this bill, H.R.6, would only serve to increase profits for the oil and gas industry, greatly accelerating fracking here at home, endangering American communities, public health and the climate. We strongly recommend that both houses of Congress reject any and all plans to export LNG overseas.

“Selling LNG abroad will drive up the industry’s profit margins, ultimately increasing gas prices here in the U.S.. Ramping up fracking in the U.S., Continue reading Food and Water Watch against LNG exports →

Williams explosion and fire, Opal, WY 2014-04-23

May 8, 2014Explosion, Law, Safety, Wyomingexplosion, Law, National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, Safety, SpectraBusters, Williams, WyomingJohn S. Quarterman

Fourth major incident this year for Williams, this time in Wyoming. Yet again locals and their local and state governments were left to pick up the tab, and the cause is still “under investigation”.

Ryan Parker wrote for the Denver Post 23 April 2014, Wyoming town evacuated after gas plant explosion,

There was an explosion followed by a fire Wednesday afternoon at the Williams Gas Plant near Opal, Wyo..

The entire town of Opal was evacuated Continue reading Williams explosion and fire, Opal, WY 2014-04-23 →

Williams Oak Grove explosion in Marshall County, WV 2014-04-05

May 8, 2014Explosion, Marshall County, Safety, West Virginiaexplosion, John S. Quarterman, Marshall County, Oak Grove Plant, Safety, SpectraBusters, West Virginia, WilliamsJohn S. Quarterman

In which Williams admits subsidence can cause a gas pipeline explosion. So does an even larger (36-inch vs. 12-inch) pipeline through the fragile karst sinkhole-prone limestone of the Floridan Aquifer for the Sabal Trail pipeline connected to Williams’ Transco sound like a good idea? Especially considering pipeline companies aren’t held accountable for the expense of their explosions, leaving local and state governments to pick up the tab?

Jeff Jenkins wrote for MetroNews 5 April 2014, Resident describes natural gas line explosion in Marshall County,

“It was a very loud explosion. I got up and looked out the window. It sounded like a plane, like a jet engine liner was going over the top of my house,” Fork Ridge Road resident Roger Dobbs told MetroNews Saturday. “I looked out the back window and you could see the smoke flying high in the sky and the flames going up.”

The site is about a mile from Dobbs’ home. The line is owned by a subsidiary of Williams, LP and carries unprocessed natural gas from production wells according to a statement from the company.

Emergency officials initially believed the rupture may have been caused by a mudslide. The line was Continue reading Williams Oak Grove explosion in Marshall County, WV 2014-04-05 →

Williams fire and explosion near Plymouth, WA 2014-03-31

May 8, 2014Explosion, LNG, Safetyexplosion, John S. Quarterman, LNG, PHMSA, Safety, SpectraBusters, Washington, WilliamsJohn S. Quarterman

A two-mile evacuation ratio around a Williams fracked methane facility in Oregon, and once again a state agency investigates while federal PHMSA does nothing, same near Plymouth, WA, as on Sauvie Island, OR.

Kristi Phil reported for the Tri-City Herald 31 March 2014, UPDATE: Evacuation radius near Plymouth plant to be reduced,

It’s unknown when Plymouth residents will be able to return to their homes after an explosion and fire at a nearby natural gas facility Monday morning triggered fears of a second, larger explosion.

Up to 1,000 residents and agricultural workers were evacuated from a two-mile radius around Northwest Pipeline in south Benton County after the explosion, which caused slow leaks from a massive storage tank and injured five people.

Hazardous materials experts entered the liquefied natural gas facility Monday afternoon for the first time nearly eight hours after the initial explosion and fire inside a building at Northwest Pipeline, a subsidiary of Williams Partners.

Claire Graham and Emily Bowman reported for KNDO 23 and KNDU 25 1 April 2014, Fire and Explosion at Natural Gas Plant near Plymouth,

Pipeline safety investigators from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission are responding Continue reading Williams fire and explosion near Plymouth, WA 2014-03-31 →