# NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter P-76-094

**Citation:** P-76-094  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** National Transportation Safety Board  
**Effective:** 1977-01-31  
**Published:** 1977-01-31

Official NTSB transmittal letter for safety recommendation P-76-094, issued 1977-01-31.

## Document text

Page 1
i . , > /! 1 , . j f ! . I l i ~ / ’,,!,.’ - 3.y L:. (0 I I / i SPORTATION SAFETY WASHINGTON, D.C. FOR RELEASE: 6:3O P,M,, E,s,T,., JANUARY 31, 1977 (202) ‘426-8787 I S S U E D : January 3 1 , 1977 Interstate Natural Gas - 1 Association of America 1660 L Street NW. I Washington, D.C. 20036 I Mr. G. H. Lawrence I President I American Gas Association I I 1515 Wilson Boulevard I I Arlington, Virginia 22209 I I I Mr. Frank N. Ikard I President I I American Petroleum Institute I I 2101 L Street NW. I I Washington, D.C. 20037 I SAFETY RECOMMENDAT I ON (S) P-76-94 At 10:32 a.m., P.d.t., on June 16, 1976, a piece of construction equipment excavating for a street widening project on Venice Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, struck and punctured an 8-inch petroleum products pipeline owned by the Standard Oil Company of California. The escaping gasoline sprayed on nearby buildings and ignited 90 seconds later. A s a result of this accident 9 persons were killed, 14 persons were injured, 7 buildings were destroyed, other buildings were damaged by fire and heat, and 15 vehicles were destroyed. The intense fire melted powerlines and tele- phone lines. - 11 P/ - For more detailed information on this accident, read “Standard Oil Company of California, 8-Inch Pipeline Rupture, Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, June 16, 1976.” NTSB-PAR-76-8. 1939

Page 2
- 2 - P-76-94 The California Department of Transportation, designers and originators of the construction project; the G r i f f i t h Company, the prime contractor f o r the project; C . W . Poss, I n c . , t h e sub contractor; and the Standard O i l Company of California were a1 aware of the existence of the 8-inch pipeline. However, the precise depth of the pipeline within the accident area was no known, although preconstruction meetings had been held, t e s t h o l t o determine the pipeline depth had been dug a t other locations and the pipeline i n another area had been lowered because of it i n s u f f i c i e n t depth. No “one-call‘‘ n o t i f i c a t i o n system was i n e f f e c t i n the Los Angeles area a t the time of the accident which would have enabled the contractor t o request and receive s p e c i f i c informa- t i o n concerning the depth and location of buried u t i l i t i e s . Therefore, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends t h a t the I n t e r s t a t e Natural Gas Association of American, the American Gas Association and the American Petroleum I n s t i t u t e : Advise member companies whose f a c i l i t i e s a r e exposed t o excavation construction projects t o take imnediate action t o mark and locate t h e i r f a c i l i t i e s accurately. (Class 11, P r i o r i t y Followup)(P-76-94) TODD, Chairman, BAILEY, Vice Chairman, HOGUE and HALEY, Members, concurred i n the above recommendation. McADAMS, Member, d i d not p a r t i c i p a t e . By: Chairman THIS RECOMMENDATION WILL BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC ON THE I DATE SHOWN ABOVE. NO PUBLIC DISSEMINATION OF THIS DOCUKENT SHOULD BE MADE PRIOR TO THAT DATE.

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/P76_94.pdf>
- Source ID: `ntsb-transmittal-letters`
- SHA-256: `339848d5cfb6fb4a25b21e516f42a7e5d470f2035d1f0179cd4f248856b3fb4d`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T04:55:47.446Z
- Exported: 2026-08-27T07:14:21.112Z
- Document slug: `ntsb-transmittal-letter-p76-94`

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