NTSB Safety Recommendation P-06-004

NTSB safety recommendation P-06-004.

The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that the USPoly Company: Revise your butt-fusion procedures to include a requirement for the avoidance of mitering in plastic gas pipe joints.

Priority: CLASS II

Overall Status: Closed - Acceptable Action

Issued Date: 2006-06-08

Adopted Date: 2006-05-31

Overall Date Closed: 2008-09-04

Synopsis: On August 21, 2004, about 8:54 a.m., a natural gas explosion destroyed a residence located at 48 Woodland Lane in DuBois, Pennsylvania. Two residents were killed in this accident. The Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the leak, explosion, and fire in DuBois, Pennsylvania, on August 21, 2004, was the fracture of a defective butt-fusion joint and the failure of the National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation to have an adequate program to inspect butt-fusion joints and replace those joints not meeting its inspection criteria.

Probable Cause: The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the leak, explosion, and fire in DuBois, Pennsylvania, on August 21, 2004, was the fracture of a defective butt-fusion joint and the failure of the National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation to have an adequate program to inspect butt-fusion joints and replace those joints not meeting its inspection criteria.

Ntsbnumber: DCA04MP006

Report Number: PAB-06-01

Addressee Name: USPoly Company

Addressee Status: Closed - Acceptable Action

Addressee Date Closed: 2008-09-04

Addressee Organization Type: P-Private Industry

Communication Date: 2007-11-08

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: Letter Mail Controlled 11/8/2007 4:02:01 PM MC# 2070643: The USPoly Company proposes the following modification to our documented butt hsion procedures in response to the NTSB recommendation P-06-4. It should be noted that the March 5*, 2000 butt fusion procedures referenced in the recommendation were Uponor Aldyl procedures. The Uponor PE pipe business was sold in September of 2004 and subsequently incorporated as USPoly Company, LLC. Current documented procedures require the installer to inspect the hsion to verify: Complete and uniform melt beads Melt bead rolled back to pipe No gaps or voids Alignment Complete facing While past and current procedures instruct the installer to Re-adjust the pipe ends in the shells if the ends are not aligned, we propose to add: Visually mitered joints (angled, offset) should be cut out and refused. This may provide additional interpretation of required visual criteria and the avoidance of angled or offset butt joints, but this language does not change USPoly’s butt hsion procedures.

Addressee Organization Type: P-Private Industry

Communication Date: 2008-05-28

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: Letter Mail Controlled 5/28/2008 10:05:23 AM MC# 2080269: Ireceived a follow-up letter from Mark Rosenker referencing the P-06-4 recommendation for butt fusion joints. This took longer to get posted on our website than what I anticipated. Nervertheless, the additions to both our yellow medium density materials and our black high density materials were completed earlier in the year. I'm tardy on notifying you of the changes. Both pieces of literature are available on our old USPoly website at www.us~olvcom~anv.com. but I'm also attaching some PDF's of the documents for your reference. We are now JM Eagle, but the old website is still up and there is a link between JM Eagle's website and USPoly. Our gas distribution products will continue to have the USPoly name in their print lines and the literature reflects that. Both guides are very similar; for the UAC 2000 guide, the references to avoiding mitered joints are found on pages 13 and 18. For the ULTRA-STRIPE product, the references are on pages 11 and 16.

Addressee Organization Type: P-Private Industry

Communication Date: 2008-05-19

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: The Safety Board has reviewed the proposed revision to JM Eagle’s butt-fusion procedures that was provided in the September 2006 letter. The Safety Board believes that the revised procedures will satisfy the intent of the recommendation once they are implemented. Accordingly, Safety Recommendation P-06-4 is classified Open Acceptable Response, pending notification that JM Eagle has completed the noted revisions to the butt-fusion procedures.

Addressee Organization Type: P-Private Industry

Communication Date: 2008-09-04

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: The Safety Board has reviewed the revision to JM Eagle’s butt-fusion procedure documents, USPoly Ultra-Stripe and USPoly UAC 2000, and is pleased that JM Eagle included a requirement for the avoidance of mitering in plastic gas pipe joints, as requested. Accordingly, Safety Recommendation P-06-4 is classified Closed Acceptable Action.