Category Archives: safety

Pipeline Safety: Top of Mind for AGA

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Victoria Plotkin | Comments Off

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On January 19-20 AGA held a Transmission Integrity Management Workshop in Las Vegas. AGA was extremely pleased with the strong participation with more than 100 members attended, representing natural gas operators across the country and industry’s leading technical experts.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is in the process of investigating the San Bruno incident and recently released a list of recommendations. Shortly thereafter, the US Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) released an advisory to highlight additional transmission integrity issues for operators to consider. AGA’s workshop reviewed the NTSB’s recommendations and PHMSA’s advisory, providing operators with an opportunity to discuss the next best steps. In the coming months, the NTSB and the 112th Congress will no doubt discuss the technical issues raised at this timely workshop.

Attendees were actively engaged in the discussion throughout the workshop. Pipeline operators discussed challenges that they are experiencing in completing integrity assessments on their remaining pipelines prior to the December 17, 2012 deadline. Operators and industry experts discussed addressing both static and time-dependent threats under their transmission integrity management programs. A wide variety of technologies are emerging to allow operators to better understand their pipeline system. This workshop included presentations on a variety of technologies that addressed challenging situations such as unpiggable pipeline segments and cased pipeline segments. Now that operators have garnered greater experience applying External Corrosion Direct Assessment (ECDA), we are in the position to identify leading practices when using this assessment methodology. A presentation was provided by an industry expert who has been involved with ECDA since its inception, noting circumstances in which this method can be applied successfully.

Many Congressional representatives and regulatory representatives have broached the topic of in-line-inspection. A panel of service providers who work with in-line-inspection tools provided detailed information regarding the threats that can be addressed and the tools’ potential limitations. It is important that all stakeholders have an understanding regarding the tools’ capabilities and limitations, as a similar panel will be held at the AGA Operations Conference in Nashville, TN the week of May 22, 2011.

AGA is greatly appreciative to all of the members and industry experts who attended this workshop and looks forward to continued work to ensure best practices in industry safety.

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Safety spotlight: AGL Resources

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Dan Gibson | Comments Off

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AGL Resources (AGL) is a large natural gas (among other things) company and they’re only going to grow (see the news about the Nicor purchase). I thought it would be a good time to take a look at how AGL spreads the good safety word through their website. In short, they do a great job.

But let’s take a closer look.

Elements addressing the visitor

When you visit the AGL Resources site, you’ll notice they give you links to each individual local utility in your area. This shows that they’ve really given some thought to the user experience and providing valuable service. Most of their visitors are probably looking for that local utility to get the service they need. Let’s visit the first utility on the list and see what we find.

You’ll note from the highlighted areas on the image above that there are three separate areas on the homepage that reference safety. Each of these areas is displayed in a prominent visual locations. The areas include on the gives a general overview of safety, one geared towards pipeline safety and one that ties into a national message supported by our members of “call before you dig.”

Examining the natural gas safety section

Once you reach the actual safety section (see image below) you’ll find a great overview with many useful tips. The page itself is clean, easy-to-read and broken into subsections that cover:

In the future

AGL Resources does have a twitter account featured prominently on the footer of the site. If you visit the account, it hasn’t been very active yet. I wonder if there are any plans on using twitter for customer service. Many companies are doing this already but I haven’t seen very much of it in the utilities community yet. I have a feeling it’s just a matter of time.

We have quite a few members doing great jobs on the safety sections of their website. We’ll be profiling them in the coming weeks. Let me know in the comments below of any good ones you’d like to see.

Posted in Natural Gas, safety | Tagged safety | Comments Off

San Bruno Pipeline photos

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Lori Traweek | 1 Comment

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Last Thursday, AGA, along with representatives from the media was provided with an opportunity to view the section of gas transmission pipeline that exploded in San Bruno, California, on September 9.

The 27 foot section of pipe was excavated by National Transportation Safety Administration (NTSB) inspectors and transported by truck to a NTSB research facility in Ashburn, Virginia.

The pictures shown here provide a unique opportunity to view and examine the effects on the pipe itself of this tragic explosion which claimed eight lives and destroyed 37 homes.

Analyzing the cause of any pipeline accident requires material, metallurgical and other expertise, and time. And we, like you, are earnestly awaiting the findings of the NTSB investigation. While it may be tempting to jump to conclusions based on these photographs, it is both prudent and professionally responsible for all involved to wait for the NTSB to release its findings.

What can cause a pipeline to fail? Historically, excavation damage is the leading cause of most serious pipeline failures. Accident information is grouped into eight cause categories: excavation damage, corrosion, natural forces, other outside force damage, material or welds, equipment, incorrect operation and other.

Accident cause information is available at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) website.

Posted in Natural Gas, safety | 1 Comment

Safety Spotlight: National Grid

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Dan Gibson | Comments Off

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AGA has been in the news lately talking about pipeline safety. It’s great that we have a chance to talk about the safety record of the industry, it’s actually very impressive, but I wanted to make sure people were getting the right message on who AGA represents. AGA represents the natural gas distribution segment of the natural gas industry, or simply put, your local natural gas utility. That’s it. If you want more detail, Dave’s explanation is a lot better than mine.

There’s one thought that takes priority over anything that our members do. That thought is safety. If you want an example, lets take a look at National Grid. If you visit the National Grid safety section, you’ll find a ton of resources. Everything from general safety to what to do if you’re getting ready to dig (call 811).

They do a good job of listing things to think about in preparation for a storm. A few years ago, my area was hit hard by a hurricane. Some people were without power for more than a week. People that followed these tips were much better off than those that didn’t:

Have on hand a number of working flashlights
at least one battery-operated radio
an extra supply of batteries
drinking water
canned food
one corded or cell phone (cordless phones will not work during a power outage)
more tips at their site

Take a trip over to National Grid’s Energy Explorer and play The Hidden Dangers game. You’ll find it in the natural gas safety world.

The National Grid safety section actually has a nice slant in that they don’t just appeal to homeowners but they have an entire section dedicated to K-8 education. These free energy-related science, safety, and environmental learning materials are available to all schools within National Grid’s service area. My favorite part though, was the games. Yes, they actually have games geared to teach children danger areas in the home. The player scores points based upon their ability to identify danger areas and answer questions related to the danger correctly. A great way to teach young people.

Our members do such a great job with their safety sections we’re going to start highlighting them more often. In the meantime, take a look at National Grid’s safety section or take a walk over to the pipeline safety section on aga.org and read our fact sheets.

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