NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter P-76-058 through P-76-060

Page 1Official PDFr-. I -.> t > /V,-/. j i ,' i , , , , . , \ NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOA WASHINGTON, D.C. ISSUED: September 17, 1976 M r . F. B. Fulenwider President Sun Pipe Line Company 907 South Detroit Tulsa, Oklahoma 74102 SAFETY RECOMMENDAT I ON (5) P-76-58 throush P-76-6.Q About 1:51 a.m. on August 2 , 1975,an 8-inch p i p e l i n e which was owned by t h e Sun Pipe Line Company ruptured i n Romulus, Michigan. Propane escaped from t h e rupture, sprayed i n t o t h e air, vaporized,and ignited; flames 500 f e e t high engulfed a 600-foot-diameter area, de- stroyed four houses and damaged three o t h e r s , burned 1 2 vehicles, and consumed 2,389 b a r r e l s (100,338 gallons) of propane. Nine persons were injured as a r e s u l t of t h i s accident. A valve a t t h e terminal had been closed a g a i n s t t h e pipeline stream and caused an abnormally high pressure to build up i n the pipe a t t h e leak site. Surface cracks i n t h e 8-inch pipe, which had been dented and gouged previously by outside forces, propagated u n t i l f a i l u r e occurred. The damage had been undetected and unreported. Although t h e pump s t a t i o n had been shut down automatically by low-flow controls, the pump was s t a r t e d again manually without clear- ance, and pumped an additional amount of propane o u t a t t h e leak s i t e . Therefore, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends t h a t the Sun Pipe L i n e Company: I n s t r u c t i t s personnel more adequately i n inspection techniques and procedures and emphasize t h e p o t e n t i a l hazards of undetected, unreported, construction damage t o an operating pipeline. (P-76-58) ( C l a s s 11, P r i o r i t y Followup) - 1/ For more d e t a i l e d information on this accident, read "Pipeline Accident Report -- Sun Pipe L i n e Company, Rupture of 8-inch Pipeline, Romulus, Michigan, August 2 , 1975." NTSB-PAR-76-7. 1869#

Page 2IIALCY , !Y NAIIONAL 1'RANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD WASHINGTON. D C 20594 OFFICIAL IIUSINESS PENAL7Y FOR PRIVAIE USE. P300 P-76-58 - P-76-60 Chairman#