NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter P-80-086 through P-80-087

Page 1Official PDF. P-77 3 NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. ISSUED: February 26, 1981 Honorable Carlos Romero Barcelo Governor Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Box 82, La Fortaleza San Juan, Puerto Rico 00902 i SAFETY RECOMMENDAT ON ( P-80-86 and -87 ----_-----..---------______________I_____- I A t 9:50 am., on January 30, 1980, an 8-inch-diameter, refined petroleum products pipeline owned by The Pipelines of Puerto Rico, Inc., and operated by the Shell Oil Company (Puerto Rico) Ltd. was struck and ruptured by a bulldozer during maintenance work on a nearby waterline in the Sector Cana of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, about 1 0 miles southwest of San Juan. Gasoline from the rupture sprayed downhill and ran off into a small creek. About 1 1/2 hours later, the gasoline vapors were ignited by an undetermined source and exploded; the subsequent fire killed one person and extensively damaged 25 houses and other property. I/ Earlier that morning, an employee of the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority of Puerto Rico had been using a pavement breaker 21 during repair work on a 6-inch-diameter waterline. Unable to remove a cement anchor that supported the waterline with the pavement breaker, an Aqueduct and Sewer Authority employee at the site requested help from Highway Authority of Puerto Rico personnel who were working nearby. The Highway Authority contractor moved a bulldozer-ripper 31 to the site. About 9 5 0 a.m., the ripper struck and punctured the pipeline which was-located aporoximately 3 inches below the waterline. For many years, the owners of underground facilities throughout the United States have been troubled with damage to their facilities as a result of third-party activity and other outside forces. The underground utility industry, recognizing the seriousness of the excavation damage problem, has developed, implemented, and publicized many programs and procedures to reduce the number of these underground contacts and the subsequent public safety hazard. However, The Pipelines of Puerto Rico, Inc., does not have a written damage prevention program and the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Puerto Rico has not encouraged the development of such a program. There is no "one-call" system operating in the accident area or in any other area on the island of Puerto Rico, and there are no local or Commonwealth laws requiring excavators to notify utilities of planned excavations. - 1/ For more detailed information, read "Pipeline Accident Report--The Pipelines of Puerto Rico, Inc., Petroleum Products Pipeline Rupture and Fire, Bayamon, Puerto Rico, January 30, 1980" (NTSB-PAR-80-6). - 2/ A pavement breaker is a hydraulic or air-operated piece of equipment used to break or fracture pavement. - 31 A ripper is t h e name given to a bulldozer which has as a part of its excavation equipment a heavy, metal, extendable tooth resembling a plow. 2920B#

Page 2-2- The Safety Board believes that good communication between exc operators of underground facilities is essential for anv successful oioel prevention program and that one of the most effective method; 'of preventin excavation-caused damage to underground facilities is to insure that excavators notif the owners or operators of utility companies in advance of the proposed excavation wor so that operators can mark the location of their facilities before excavation begins. most convenient method for such notification is a "one-calltt system. If an excav gives reasonable advance notice of his plans, owners of underground facilities can loca arid mark their facilities promptly and accurately, or can advise t h e excavators that ther are no facilities in the proposed area of excavation. In all, "onecallf1 systems operate i 43 States. The "one-call" system international committee of the American Public Wo Association Utility Location and Coordination Council, located a t 1313 East 60th Stre Chicago, Illinois, (telephone 312-947-2520), has appointed nine regional represen who are available to consult with community officials around the continental States and its territories to set up "one understands that the "one-calP s accidents, it believes that an es contractors to use it, is an extremely v pipelines. In this case, if such a syst contractor, by his contractual tequirements, had been continuously "in contact with t h 'one-call' notification system or the individual facilities operators to determine t h precise depth and location of any underground facility," this accident might not hav occurred. It appears that the pipeline company's parent companies furnish satisf pipeline safety training, especially for training programs for their proEessiona1 effective training program for its et January 14, 1980, the Office of Pipeli Transportation suggested that the PSC send its pipeline personnel to training courses o the safety evaluation of pipeline facilities a t the DOT'S Transportation Safety Institute i Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Half of th the Federal government. ,4s yet, no p pipeline safety courses. Participation personnel with valuable training in evaluating t h e pipeline facilities of Puerto Rico. Therefore, the National Governor of t h e Commonwealth of Direct the Public Service Commission of Puerto Rico t professional personnel other activities regardin Priority Action) (P-80-8 Direct the appropriate utilities and agencies of Puerto an island-wide "one-callft excavation notification system. Priority Action) (P-80-87) KING, Chairman, DRIVER, concurred in these recommendation#