Neighbors uneasy as Kansas gas fields go uninspected, Wichita Eagle

Nathan Phillips is a meter-reader for the 21st century.

The College of Arts & Sciences associate professor of geography and environment recently piled into a Nissan Murano with collaborators Bob Ackley and Eric Crosson and rambled through the streets of greater Boston to hunt for natural gas leaks. With the help of a strange-looking vacuum device attached to the car just below the rear bumper, the three have found geysers of gas gushing invisibly from underground pipes corroded by age. The leaks, Phillips says, contribute to global warming, could create explosions in some extreme cases, have killed or damaged up to 10,000 trees in Massachusetts (a disputed matter under litigation), and shaft rate-paying gas customers who must pick up the tab for wasted gas.

Much more 

Data kept secret on risk, failings of plastic pipe

09/26/2011 By Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer

The type of plastic pipe that caused a natural gas explosion and fire in a Cupertino condominium last month has long been considered a potential threat to the public, but federal pipeline regulators have allowed companies to keep it in the ground and secretly gather limited information about its failings, a Chronicle investigation shows.

Companies such as Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which owns the line that caused the Cupertino blast, don't have to routinely report what they know about failure rates of particular brands of plastic pipes, even to the federal and state agencies that regulate pipeline operators. The federal government, bowing to industry resistance, has never required it.

Officials with the California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees PG&E, say the utility does account for plastic pipe leaks in quarterly reports, but does not indicate the maker of the pipes involved. PG&E provides that and other key information about plastic pipe failures on a voluntary, anonymous basis to an industry-maintained confidential database.

Timothy Alan Simon, one of the five PUC members appointed by the governor, said that should change.

"These are gas lines coming to your home," Simon said. "Every resident should have a certain level of assurance that we are not hiding information that they need to know to determine safety."

Much More... 

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Plastic natural gas pipe failure data kept secret  Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, September 26, 2011

Read article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/25/MNAH1L8QMB.DTL&ao=all#ixzz1Z4K5vG8S

... Richard Kuprewicz, a consultant from Redmond, Wash., who advises federal regulators on pipeline safety, said keeping data hidden blinds regulators.

The current system, he said, creates "the illusion of safety, in that it gives people the impression that someone is keeping real data that means something. It may or may not - most likely not."

New standards set for industrial pipe cleaning in wake of deadly 2010 Conn ...

Update 9 24 2011  New standards set for industrial pipe cleaning in wake of deadly 2010 Conn ...  The Republic  AP MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Federal officials are coming to Connecticut to unveil a new safety standard on how industrial gas-piping systems should be cleaned, a measure developed after the deadly 2010 Kleen Energy plant explosion. ...
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August 5, 2010 $16.6 Million in Fines After Fatal Blast at a Connecticut Plant by RUSS BUETTNER

Federal safety officials on Thursday issued $16.6 million in proposed fines in connection with a huge explosion at a power plant that killed six workers in Middletown, Conn., determining that construction companies had blatantly disregarded industry procedures designed to safeguard workers.

The fines, the third largest ever issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for a single episode, stem from accusations of 371 violations, including 225 considered “willful,” found after the Feb. 7 blast, which occurred as flammable natural gas was being shot through a supply pipe to purge it of debris. Fifty people were injured in the explosion... Read more.

Lost and Unaccounted Natural Gas: Energy, Economics, and Environment Workshop: 

http://www.bu.edu/energy/lost-and-unaccounted-natural-gas-energy-economics-and-environment/
The purpose of this workshop is to explore and create awareness around “the unknown” – the extent – the cause – the locations – the how – of these methane gas leaks; to explore rural- urban environmental and economic interdependencies surrounding the natural gas resource and industry; and develop a consensus on a research strategy to address these findings. Leaders from government, research, citizens, utilities and private sector will gather to share information and brainstorm next steps.


Thousands of gas leaks in Boston area Boston Globe (August 17, 2011)

Extensive Methane Leaks Discovered Under Streets of Boston ScienceDaily (May 13, 2011)

Effective Policies to Eliminate Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools. Webinar Series.

To promote a national framework for the prevention of chemical incidents in schools, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) National Toxic Substance Incidents Program (NTSIP) has teamed up with Interstate Chemical Threats Workgroup (ICTW) to bring an exciting webinar series. 

During the sessions we'll explore policies and prevention efforts for three chemicals/chemical categories that lead the NTSIP incident list: elemental mercury, cleaning products, and pesticides. 

At the conclusion of the webinar series, the summary notes will guide the development of a white paper entitled, Best Practices and Policies for Eliminating Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools. 

• "Mercury Exposure and Effective Policies" on October 13, 
• "Green Cleaning Policies to Eliminate Exposures," on November 10, 
• "Pesticide Exposures and Effective Policies" on December 15, 
• "Best Practices and Policies for Eliminating Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools" on January 12, 2012. 

All webinars start at 9:30 a.m. PST. 

Webinar Dates and Information