Incident Report Subject: US - Significant Pipeline Failures involving the Transport of Hazardous Liquids: 1993-2012 Date of Email report: Tue 16/04/2013 Report Detail:
Pipelines have been in the news a lot lately. Yet, despite the coverage, the obvious damage, claims and counter-claims, it’s difficult to understand these events in the overall context of pipeline safety without looking at longer time frames. Fortunately, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) maintains a comprehensive database of all pipeline incidents reported in the U.S. Using data from 1993-2012, we focused on onshore and offshore pipelines carrying hazardous liquids (primarily crude oil and refined petroleum products) that suffered what PHMSA classifies as “significant incidents.” To qualify, a “significant incident” must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:
Of 5,727 reported incidents during 1993-2012, 2,079 met the PHMSA definition of “significant incidents,” accounting for 99.4% of the total volume spilled. Additional Documentation: Web article with statistics and images: http://www.ecology.com/2013/04/08/significant-pipeline-spills-liquids-1993-2012/ |
