NTSB Safety Recommendation P-81-014

NTSB safety recommendation P-81-014.

THE NTSB RECOMMENDS THAT THE RESEARCH AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATION: IF IT IS DETERMINED THAT PIPE FAILURES IN EXISTING PIPELINE SYSTEMS WITH A DIAMETER TO-THICKNESS RATIO OF 70 OR GREATER DUE TO FATIGUE CRACKS INITIATED DURING THE RAIL SHIPMENT OF THE PIPE ARE A CONTINUING PROBLEM, DEVELOP OPERATING AND TESTING GUIDELINES TO ASSIST PIPELINE OPERATORS IN MINIMIZING PIPE FAILURES.

Priority: CLASS II

Overall Status: Closed--No Longer Applicable

Issued Date: 1981-07-21

Adopted Date: 1981-07-15

Overall Date Closed: 1984-02-21

Synopsis: ON MARCH 6, 1980, A 32-INCH-DIAMETER REFINED PETROLEUM PRODUCTS PIPELINE OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE COLONIAL PIPELINE COMPANY RUPTURED IN TWO LOCATIONS SIMULTANEOUSLY. ONE BREAK, WHERE THE PIPE HAD BEEN THINNED BY CORROSION IN A CASING UNDER A ROAD, CAUSED THE RELEASE OF 8,000 BARRELS (336,000 GALLONS) OF AVIATION-GRADE KEROSENE ADJACENT TO ROUTE 234 NEAR MANASSAS, VIRGINIA. BEFORE BEING FULLY CONTAINED, THE KEROSENE HAD FLOWED INTO BULL RUN RIVER AND HAD ENTERED THE OCCOQUAN RESERVOIR, A SOURCE OF DRINKING WATER FOR SEVERAL NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITIES.

Probable Cause: None

Ntsbnumber: DCA80MP010

Report Number: PAR-81-02

Addressee Name: RSPA

Addressee Status: Closed--No Longer Applicable

Addressee Date Closed: 1984-02-21

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1981-11-02

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: RSPA LTR: UPON COMPLETION OF OUR ANALYSIS OF MTB INFORMATION AND ANY ADDITIONAL DATA OBTAINED FROM THE API AND AGA, WHICH MAY INDICATE A CONTINUING PROBLEM, IF A NEED IS INDICATED, WE WILL PROCEED TO DEVELOP OPERATING AND TESTING GUIDELINES WHICH MAY BE APPROPRIATE TO RECOMMENDATION P-81-14.

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1983-06-01

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: RSPA LETTER: AFTER A THOROUGH REVIEW BY API, AGA, AND RSPA, ONLY SEVEN OPERATING FAILURES HAVE BEEN FOUND THAT ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO FATIGUE CRACKING RESULTING FROM RAIL TRANSPORTATION. THESE SEVEN FAILURES WERE LIMITED TO TWO LIQUID PIPELINE OPERATORS AND OCCURRED ON PIPELINES INSTALLED BETWEEN 1962 AND 1967. FACTS OBTAINED IN THE JOINT RSPA/INDUSTRY SURVEY INDICATE THAT FAILURE OF PIPE LINES CAUSED BY FATIGUE CRACKING RESULTING FROM RAIL TRANSPORTATION OF PIPE IS A LIMITED PROBLEM THAT DOES NOT WARRANT REGULATORY ACTION AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER, RSPA WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR REPORTED PIPELINE FAILURES TO DETERMINE IF THERE ARE ANY INDICATIONS OF FUTURE SAFETY PROBLEMS.

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1983-03-21

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: RSPA LETTER: IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE (API), THE MTB IS CONDUCTING A REVIEW OF THE EXTENT AND SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH A SERIES OF PIPELINE FAILURES WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN DUE TO FATIGUE CRACKS WHICH DEVELOPED DURING RAIL SHIPMENT.

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1985-09-03

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1982-02-23

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1984-02-21

Communication Type: Official Correspondence