By James Girards.
From time to time, we read about a natural gas pipeline exploding, wreaking carnage on a community. The casual reader may think it is a freak accident. But, if you've noticed an increase in these events there is a reason. They are getting more and more frequent because natural gas pipeline companies are refusing to repair and update their pipelines. The explosions occur due to aging pipes and faulty connectors. The pipeline companies claim it is too costly to overhaul the pipeline system so they patch here and there but never solve the problem. Of course, the pipes continue to age and deteriorate and the faulty connectors rupture. We've written about these kinds of incidents before.
According to yesterday's Wall Street Journal: "More than 30,000 miles of aging cast-iron and wrought-iron pipelines carrying explosive natural gas crisscross cities and towns around the country. Big concentrations are centered in Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Louisville, Ky., and New York, where an old iron pipeline was implicated in a March blast that killed eight people. A gas leak from an undetermined source triggered an explosion last month in Boston that injured at least two people and sent about 10 others to the hospital."
The US Department of Transportation estimates it will be 2050 before the problems can be fixed - if the companies start now. You can read the USDOT's "Call to Action" by clicking here.
But, natural gas pipelines are, of course, not limited to those areas. And, that doesn't begin to cover the issue of faulty connectors throughout the country that become dislodged due to expansion and contraction cycles in the soil or improper installation.
To learn more about dangerous pipelines and what you can do to force companies to be responsible to maintain and replace aging pipeline systems, contact the Girards Law Firm at 214-346-9529 in Texas; in Oklahoma at (405) 598-7825; and in Arkansas at (501) 288-9529.