In this lesson,
we're going to talk about pipeline incidents and their underlying causes.
Keep in mind that there are over 305,000 miles of natural gas transmission pipelines and
another 2.1 million miles of
natural gas distribution lines that are operated by natural gas utilities.
First, let's take a look at the natural gas transmission pipeline data.
Even though we've got thousands of miles of
natural gas transmission pipelines that have been operating over 50 years,
the number of incidences annually has ranged between 90 and 140 in the last five years.
One to six people died because of a natural gas pipeline incident between 2014 and 2016,
and the highest number occurred in the year 2000 with 15 people dying.
Now, let's turn our attention to
natural gas distribution lines operated by natural gas utility companies.
The data from natural gas distribution lines is only
listed by the number of fatalities for that year.
We can see that the highest number of fatalities occurred in 2014 with 17 deaths.
The number of fatalities has declined to nine between 2015 through 2017.
Injuries caused by natural gas distribution lines
between 2014 and 2017 declined from
73 in 2014 to about 13 in 2017.
What caused this pipeline explosion leaks and spills?
Certainly, the failure of the pipe weld or equipment is a factor as is corrosion,
excavation damage, an incorrect operation and maintenance practices.
Also, floods and hurricanes can erode
streams and damage natural gas pipelines and distribution lines.
Pfizer is certainly aware of the causes and are working with states and
individual companies to correct and reduce
incidents as well as injuries to life and property.
This map will give you an idea of the overall incidences, injuries,
and deaths caused by natural gas and liquid pipelines between 1999 and 2014.
Overall, there were over 3,141 incidents,
369 injuries and 78 deaths during this period.
As you might expect,
the number of incidents is higher in the U.S. Gulf Coast area.
It also appears that liquid pipelines that carry
crude oil and refined petroleum products like gasoline,
diesel, and jet fuel are more numerous on
the map than the light colored natural gas circles.