NTSB Safety Recommendation P-81-023

NTSB safety recommendation P-81-023.

THE NTSB RECOMMENDS THAT THE FOUR CORNERS PIPE LINE COMPANY: DEVELOP WRITTEN PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING SUSPECTED PIPELINE LEAKS AND TRAIN ITS PERSONNEL SO THAT THESE PROCEDURES ARE FOLLOWED ACCURATELY AND EXPEDITIOUSLY.

Priority: CLASS II

Overall Status: Closed - Unacceptable Action

Issued Date: 1981-08-31

Adopted Date: 1981-08-18

Overall Date Closed: 1983-04-01

Synopsis: ON DECEMBER 1, 1980, A PIPELINE TRANSPORTING NAPHTHA RUPTURED UNDER THE ROAD AT THE INTERSECTION OF 28TH STREET AND GALE AVENUE IN LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA. ESCAPING PRODUCT UNDER HIGH PRESSURE BLEW A HOLE THROUGH THE PAVEMENT AND SPRAYED INTO THE AIR UP TO 20 FEET AND THEN FLOWED INTO THE GUTTERS. MOMENTS LATER, THE PRODUCT IGNITED BY AN UNDETERMINED SOURCE. THE ENSUING FLAMES REACHED A HEIGHT OF APPROXIMATELY 70 FEET. AS A RESULT OF THE FIRE, 5 PERSONS WERE INJURED, 1 HOUSE WAS DESTROYED, 11 HOUSES SUSTAINED MODERATE TO SEVERE DAMAGE, AND 11 MOTOR VEHICLES WERE DESTROYED.

Probable Cause: None

Ntsbnumber: DCA81MP002

Report Number: PAR-81-04

Addressee Name: Four Corners Pipeline Company

Addressee Status: Closed - Unacceptable Action

Addressee Date Closed: 1983-04-01

Addressee Organization Type: P-Private Industry

Communication Date: 1982-10-08

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: On August 31, 1981, the National Transportation Safety Board issued Safety Recommendations P-81-23 through -28 to your company. These recommendations were issued as a result of our investigation of the Four Corners Pipe Line Company pipeline rupture and fire at Long Beach, California, on December 1, 1980. Our records show that we have not received any indication of action taken by your company regarding the recommended actions. We would appreciate being informed as to what efforts were made to implement the above recommendations. Enclosed are Safety Board documents with which the recommendations were issued. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. We look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Addressee Organization Type: P-Private Industry

Communication Date: 1983-04-01

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: On August 31, 1981, the National Transportation Safety Board issued Safety Recommendations P-81-23 through -28 to your company. These Safety Recommenda-tions were issued as a result of our investigation of the Four Corners Pipe Line Company pipeline rupture and fire at Long Beach, California, on December 1, 1980. On October 8, 1982, a letter was sent to your office inquiring about your efforts to implement these Safety Recommendations. Our records show that we have not received any indication of your company’s having taken any action toward implementation of the Safety Recommendations. For file purposes, we have placed Safety Recommendations P-81-23 through -28 in a “Closed-Unacceptable Action” status, and we wiII take no further action in this matter. The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency with the statutory responsibility “. . .to promote transportation safety by conducting indepen-dent accident investigations and by formulating safety improvement recommendations” (P.L. 93-633). The Safety Board is vitally interested in any actions taken as a result of its Safety Recommendations. Therefore, even though we are closing these recommendations, we would appreciate being informed regarding any action you may take in the future with respect to the foregoing recommendations.