Gasoline Pipeline Ruptures, Sprays 100 Feet High

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A pipe ruptured at a pumping station on a Philadelphia to Syracuse gasoline pipeline around 8am this morning, sending a spray of gasoline up to one hundred feet high before the flow was stopped. Luckily there was no fire involved.

As of 5pm EST, TV news reports showed fuel still pouring out of the damaged pipe and flowing into a nearby creek. Pipeline company officials stated they don't have figures on how much fuel escaped.

Local official evacuated nearby homes over concerns about fire potential and vapor hazards. As of this time the cause of the rupture has not been determined.

A one hundred foot high geyser of gasoline, due to a pipe rupture at a pumping station. Wouldn't there usually be some kind *pressure monitoring sensor embedded system* located at a pumping station which would detect a drop in backpressure caused by a major leak and then shut down the pumps?

Unless of course, the embedded sensing system was disabled by *some sort of failure*. But these kind of thinks didn't happen over New Year's, so they can't happen at all during the year 2000, right?

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), January 19, 2000

Answers

Sigh...

Another note in the Fat Lady's song....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shakey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-- Shakey (in_a_bunker@forty.feet), January 19, 2000.


"Wouldn't there usually be some kind *pressure monitoring sensor embedded system* located at a pumping station which would detect a drop in backpressure caused by a major leak and then shut down the pumps? Unless of course, the embedded sensing system was disabled by *some sort of failure*. But these kind of thinks didn't happen over New Year's, so they can't happen at all during the year 2000, right?"

You might have a point here. With all the accidents that have happened in the oil industry, it makes me wonder if some of the safety related equipment was acting up and has been disabled. Problems do happen all the time and are quickly fixed, if we know about them. We might be seeing the consequences of "we'll just run it manually" i.e. blind.



-- Chris Tisone (c_tisone@hotmail.com), January 19, 2000.

What about frost heaves?

Pipes are bursting all over the North East due to the Artic weather conditions.

-- (******jack@frost.******), January 19, 2000.


Is this rupture at a gas station or is the problem with a large prodution line traveling many miles? Any links appreciated.

-- John (jtKinship@4it.com), January 19, 2000.

Is this rupture at a gas station or is the problem with a large prodution line traveling many miles? Any links appreciated.

-- John (jtKinship@4it.com), January 19, 2000.


Jack Forst, the break was in the above-ground portion of the pumping station.

Chris, I'm more concerned that some of these embedded systems have failed to the "normal operating position" and are unable to respond changing conditions as they should.

Shakey, Not only is she singing, but she's hitting a lot of "C" sharps pretty early in the song. What's gonna be left to break by the time she gets around to the climax of her act. Think the old theater saying "Big ending! Big ending!"

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), January 19, 2000.


It seems lately the Word "Terrorism"has disappeared from our Vocabulary,should there be a revised Version"Corporate Terrorism"??

-- H.H.Nie (flohans@fl.freei.net), January 19, 2000.

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