Pipeline Blast Creates Fireball

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/623500/Pipeline-Blast-Creates-Fireball.html?nav=526

Watch Video Towers of flame seen for miles after ATEX Express gas line ruptures, 1/27/15, by Casey Junkins,The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

FOLLANSBEE - A 20-inch diameter ATEX Express pipeline ruptured Monday in Brooke County Monday morning, creating towers of flame viewable for several miles. 

Set aside a special day  

...let us suggest the legislature of Texas set aside a special day each year to be observed as a memorial day on which tribute will be paid to the children and teachers who died in this catastrophe...and to make laws of safety... Our daddies and mothers, as well as the teachers, want to know that when we leave our homes in the morning to go to school, that we will come out safe when our lessons are over.“ Read the complete speech by Carolyn Jones Frei, March 25, 1937 to the Texas Legislature after the 1937 March 18 Texas School Explosion.

Let’s make March 18 an annual day to Bring the Lessons of 1937 to Your School.  Tell the story of the 1937 TX School Explosion, study its lessons, and celebrate the leadership and partnerships that can save lives. Update your school's values and technical skills to live safely with 21st century chemicals and technology. Read about inspiring heroes at http://tinyurl.com/HealthyKidsHeroes2015.  

As a result of the New London tragedy, the 45th TX Legislature enacted House Bill 1017 which amended Article 6053, Texas Revised Civil Statutes, 1925, giving the Railroad Commission the authority to adopt rules and regulations pertaining to the odorization of natural gas or liquefied petroleum gases. On July 27, 1937, Gas Utilities Docket 122 was adopted and the Commission began enforcement of odorization requirements for natural gas.

"My sister Helen Jones, an honor student and member of the high school champion debate team, was not so fortunate. She and my uncle, Paul Grier, a senior who planned to study medicine, were both taken from us in this awful explosion that killed so many of the future generation of East Texas."-- Carolyn Jones Frei, 1937

 

Safety in the Science Classroom

NGSS NOW  nsta.org

Next Generation Science Standards 

January 2015 Newsletter

  
Q: I'm looking through the NGSS and I don't see any standards about lab safety or health education. Am I missing something? 

A: The NGSS are science content standards based on the National Research Council's Framework for K-12 Science Education, and as such, contain neither health education standards nor lab safety standards. This is not an indication that these topics are unimportant, but rather that they go beyond the content contained in the Framework.  Each state typically has both health education standards and lab safety standards or manuals that are used in addition to their science content standards. 

To find additional resources about lab safety, you can visit this page for books and resources: Safety in the Science Classroom.

Pipeline Association for Public Awareness (PAPA) Video http://vimeo.com/114175332 Not just a training video for excavators, this video includes lots of useful information for schools and communities about energy pipelines, gas and other pipeline hazards, pipeline markers, and the DigSafe 811 hotline. There is  graphic video of pipeline accidents.  More PIPA videos: Pipelineawareness PIPA: www.pipelineawareness.info

School Pipeline Safety Partnership Introduction Video http://vimeo.com/96512706  This short video shows how to find your school's custom pipeline safety webpage at schoolpipelinesafety.org. Only schools that are enrolled in the program will have a custom webpage on the site. For more information, please email info@schoolpipelinesafety.org.

Find Pipelines Near Your School to help you quickly respond to a pipeline problem and protect students, staff and facilities. 

Permanent Pipeline Markers Pipeline operators place permanent signs, called pipeline markers, along transmission, gathering and hazardous liquids pipeline routes, at roadway and railway crossings and at aboveground facilities to identify the general location of a pipeline. Lines maintained by your local gas company typically do not have permanent pipeline markers. Markers can vary in size, shape and color, but all markers include important information about the pipeline, including the product transported, the pipeline operator’s name and the operator’s emergency contact number.  Line markers do not indicate depth of the line, the number of lines in the area or the exact location of a pipeline. If you are planning an excavation or building project on your school property, even if you have identified a pipeline marker, you must call 811 or your local One-Call center to have pipelines located and marked before digging.  Depending on the specifics of your school’s project, the pipeline operator may elect to be on-site during excavation. Pipeline markers are important safety signs.  It is a federal crime to willfully deface, damage, remove or destroy a pipeline marker.  If you notice a damaged marker, please contact the pipeline operator. 

See examples of different marker shapes.  

School Pipeline Safety Map (available for participating schools) If your school participates in the School Pipeline Safety Partnership program, you can access an online aerial map of your school showing the general location of nearby pipelines by accessing your school’s pipeline safety information page. In addition to a map, school pipeline safety pages include the pipeline operator’s emergency contact number, information about the pipeline and what it transports, and non-emergency contact information for local pipeline and school personnel.  

National Pipeline Mapping System Maps (available for all schools) The federal government provides online maps to help you locate pipelines in your community through the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS).  Maps generated by NPMS show the approximate location of gas and hazardous liquids transmission pipelines in relation to specific addresses, major roads, zip codes, cities and counties.  NPMS also provides non-emergency contact information for transmission pipeline operators in your community. Learn more about the types of pipelines that make up our nation’s pipeline infrastructure.  

Aboveground Facilities In addition to underground pipelines, your school may be located near aboveground components of the pipeline system, including compressor and pumping stations, metering stations and storage facilities.  Pipeline markers are posted to identify aboveground facilities as well. Metering stations and compressor and pumping stations are located along gathering and transmission lines.  Metering stations measure flow of product in and out of the pipeline system, and compression and pumping stations push products through the pipeline.  Storage facilities store natural gas or other products.  If you have questions about an aboveground facility near your school, contact the operator listed on the pipeline marker for more information.

Also see: Gas Pipeline Safety Information for School Administrators and Safety Officials (SourceGas Brochure)