If you’re a regular reader of NaturalGasWatch.org — and there are thousands of you — you know that NaturalGasWatch.org is one of the few organizations that refuses to take at face value the PR spin the natural gas industry tries to pass off as fact. And for that, we take a lot of heat …
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If you’ve ever tried to track data about pipeline safety, you’ve probably come to the conclusion that meaningful information is often elusive, buried deep within a federal website that’s difficult to use and seemingly constructed for insiders. ProPublica, the independent, non-profit news agency that has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s primary sources
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Shortly after 11 p.m. EST, a massive explosion destroyed five homes and severely damaged as many as 80 others in Indianapolis, Indiana, according to recent media reports. Two people are presumed dead and seven more were injured in the incident, which occurred in the city’s southside Richmond Hill neighborhood. Several federal agencies, including the Department
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This Week In Natural Gas Leaks and Explosions is exactly what it sounds like: an aggregation of natural gas leaks and explosions compiled from various media reports from around the country. It is not meant to be comprehensive; a report of that nature would run exceedingly long and try the patience of you, the faithful
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The number of natural gas pipeline incidents — natural gas leaks or natural gas explosions — in New York City shot up dramatically in 2011, increasing by 400 percent compared to the previous year, according to documents obtained by NaturalGasWatch.org. According to records obtained from the Pipeline & Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA,) the federal
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Let’s start with explosions, since there have been so many of them lately, and finish up with leaks tomorrow, since this installment will be so lengthy … another explosion in Allentown. Yep, that Allentown, the same one — the one in Pennsylvania, only this time the blast wasn’t as big. Not like that one about
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Maybe it’s because they’re overwhelmed; maybe it’s because the information doesn’t exist. Maybe it’s because it was never filed, or it was misfiled or maybe it’s because it’s really not a high priority right now — but for whatever reason, the vast majority of public regulatory agencies charged with overseeing pipeline safety at the state
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Citing budget guts that have forced a drawdown in personnel, the head of Jersey City’s firefighters union said recently that first responders would be overwhelmed and unable to handle a disaster in the event of a failure of the proposed Spectra natural gas pipeline there. “Due to the economic recession and budget cuts we are
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Sometimes a couple of stories come along, from completely different sources, that precipitate a jaw-dropping sense of astonishment. This is one of those times. First, from the trade journal Occupational Health & Safety, a story posted on Saturday headlined, “New Rules Coming for Pipeline Control Rooms.” The story notes that: The U.S. Department of Transportation’s
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Researchers and collaborators at Boston University have documented hundreds of natural gas leaks in the city, many of which constitute an immediate public hazard — and the problem, the researchers say, goes well beyond Boston’s degrading and leaky natural gas infrastructure. “I was surprised that we documented literally hundreds of leaks,” Prof. Nathan Phillips, an
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