Will We See More Of The Same With Our Crumbling Infrastructure?

[Rick Rowlands]

I am not sure this can be attributed to "crumbling infrastructure", whatever that means to you.   This was a 36" buried pipeline,  My guess is that contraction in the line due to the cold temps. opened up a crack, allowing natural gas to seep out.  Somewhere it found an ignition source triggering the explosion.  Automatic safety shutoff valves closed the line as soon as a pressure differential was detected, and it took a few hours for the remaining gas in the line to flare off.   Looks like its been six years since the last internal inspection of this line. 

[irishbobcat]

DUNGANNON - Officials say it may take months before they know what caused Thursday night's major gas pipeline explosion, the flames from which could be seen as far away as Steubenville and the Youngstown and Pittsburgh airports.

The explosion off McKaig Road about a mile west of Dungannon was the result of a "pipeline failure," according to Richard Wheatley, a spokesman for El Paso Corp., the parent firm of Tennessee Gas Pipeline.

"The federal investigation, they do take weeks and months to complete," he said.

The explosion occurred on the farm of Neil and Richard Zehentbauer about 10:30 p.m., sending a fireball of flames shooting more than 200 feet into the air that could be seen from almost any high spot in Columbiana County and neighboring counties.

No one was injured, nor was there any known property damage, although many homes in Dungannon were reportedly shaken by the explosion and some showered with dirt.