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A massive natural gas explosion that caused one death in Kentucky last month was just the latest in a string of serious incidents involving the Texas Eastern Transmission Co. pipeline that have killed and injured numerous people since 1985.
Deadly Kentucky Pipeline Explosion Left 5 Injured
Many residents of Lincoln County, Kentucky probably weren’t even aware that a portion of the Texas Eastern pipeline ran under their communities until a 30-inch pipe exploded and burst into flames early on the morning of August 1st.
“There was a loud noise and it sounded like a tornado was outside our house,” one witness told CNN. “When you stepped outside you could hear the flames and feel the heat.”
Spanning nearly 9,100 miles, the Texas Eastern pipeline carries natural gas from the Gulf Coast to high-demand areas in the northeastern United States. A coalition of energy companies began construction on the pipeline before World War II, and work on most of the Kentucky portion – Line 15 — wrapped up prior to 1970. Enbridge, a multi-national company based in Alberta, Canada, assumed ownership of the Texas Eastern pipeline when it acquired Spectra Energy in February 2017.
Last month’s Kentucky pipeline explosion tragically killed a 58-year old grandmother and injured 5 others, including one man who sustained third-degree burns on 75% of his body. The resulting fire scorched a large area, destroyed houses and cars, and forced more than six dozen people to evacuate their homes.
Texas Eastern Pipeline Explosions and Accidents
Nationwide, there have been 83 pipeline explosions, ruptures, and other accidents along the Texas Eastern network since 1985. According to the Courier-Journal, 63 of those incidents were deemed “significant”, including nine considered serious – meaning they resulted in a death or injury requiring hospitalization.
In 1985, another Kentucky pipeline explosion involving the Texas Eastern network killed 5 people near Beaumont and severely injured three others. Later that year, 8 people suffered serious injuries when an even larger explosion on the same pipeline outside Lancaster, Kentucky instantly incinerated more than 80 acres of land.
Three people would sustain severe injuries a year later, when a section of Line 15 ruptured just 10 miles from the site of last month’s explosion. Another rupture along Line 15 caused $3.3 million in damage near Morehead, Kentucky in 2003.
Most Pipeline Incidents Within Operator Control
While the exact cause of the Kentucky pipeline explosion remains under investigation, roughly 1/3 of the significant incidents on the Texas Eastern pipeline resulted from corrosion. Data also indicates that around 70% of major natural gas pipeline incidents result from factors within the operator’s control.
It’s up to pipeline companies to conduct inspections for corrosion and other potentially dangerous problems. According to the Courier-Journal, Enbridge apparently performed in-line inspections on Line 15 in 2018 and 2019. The 2018 inspection report indicated a “small dent with metal loss” that did not require action under the federal pipeline safety regulations or the company’s procedures.
“Most of the physical inspection — looking at the pipe and working the valves — that’s all done by the industry and reported to regulators,” said Carl Weimer, executive director of the Washington state-based nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust. “It’s paperwork inspections. Federal or state regulators will go to the company’s office and look at what they said they would do (for safety and compliance) versus what they actually did.”
What’s more, federal regulation only requires pipeline operators to conduct inspections in “high-consequence” areas. Unfortunately, the site of the August 1st Kentucky pipeline explosion wasn’t a high-consequence area.
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