Here at the Department of Transportation, safety is our number one priority – whether it involves planes, trains, buses, trucks, cars, or pipelines. Improving safety is the first thing I think about in the morning. It’s the thing that keeps me awake at night.
That’s why I’m so concerned about the rising number of deaths in pipeline explosions across America – which have multiplied from nine in 2008, to 13 in 2009, to 22 in 2010, even as the overall numbers of pipeline accidents have declined. And that’s why, today, the DOT hosted more than 200 people, representing a wide range of pipeline stakeholders, for a National Pipeline Safety Forum.
For our part, the Obama Administration has already stepped up our pipeline safety efforts:
- President Obama has proposed a 15 percent increase in federal pipeline safety funding, which will allow us to hire more dedicated safety professionals.
- This August, we will put into place a new rule requiring all operators of gas distribution pipelines to evaluate their risks and take immediate steps to mitigate those risks.
- And I've called on Congress to raise the maximum civil penalties for pipeline safety violations and boost the number of safety experts available to perform pipeline inspections.
But everyone at today's safety forum knows that we can't fix America's pipelines from Washington.
We need the pipeline community to step up their efforts. We need them to begin discussing safety risks – and how best to identify and address these risks without delay.
Ultimately, the public doesn’t know or care who has jurisdiction over these essential utility lines. They just want to know that they can turn on the lights, the heat, or the stove without endangering their families and neighbors.
We need the pipeline community to work together and find a solution, now. And I'm counting on those gathered for today's forum to make that happen.
I think all of us here in the Lehigh Valley were horrified to learn of the second natural gas explosion in downtown Allentown and the loss of life and property. This kind of explosion has happened before and when Secretary LaHood visited last week more information became available about the slow rate of replacement of these aging cast iron gas pipes. The problem is even worse in Philadelphia.
Digging up the pavement to replace every foot of aging pipe is extremely expensive and it is not clear it can be done faster than the older pipes become aged and unsafe. I am wondering if we could spend some of our research money on developing a flexible liner for existing pipes that would have openings for feeder sleeves to the individual homes and businesses. This liner could be installed with existing fiber optic articulated probes and then impregnated with epoxy much like a fiberglass boat is constructed. The liner would be gas tight and would allow repairing existing gas lines without digging up the street. Perhaps this has already been invented, although I didn't see anything in the USPTO data base. If we were to fund this work with an industry consortium, it may be possible to greatly reduce the loss of life and property over the next few years and save significantly on the cost of making gas pipelines safe. In other words work toward a technological solution in addition to a political or financial solution.
Posted by: W. Jeffrey Shakespeare, Ph.D. | April 19, 2011 at 10:19 AM
there is a fine line between keeping people safe and making it so strict that companies can't get anything done. i'm curious how this one plays out.
Posted by: Asheville Photographer - Blue Bend Photography | January 27, 2012 at 01:01 PM
It is really important to inform the public about this matter inorder for them to know what should they do incase of this explosion happen,and for them to know the danger will bring of this. Because they really deserve safetiness, so this forum will really helps a lot. The San Francisco-based utility Pacific Gas and Electric agreed to pay the city of San Bruno $70 million as restitution for a gas explosion that took the lives of eight in 2010. Article resource: PG&E to pay $70 million for pipeline tragedy
Posted by: Jheny | March 15, 2012 at 01:12 AM