"It's going to cost millions of dollars," said Richard Kuprewicz, a Washington state pipeline safety expert. "The sad part of this is that if they had done this over the last eight or ten years, it would have been a rather small number. Now you've got to do it in a year."
The San Bruno pipe exploded Sept. 9 following a pressure spike caused by a glitch at a Milpitas gas transmission line terminal, killing eight and destroying 37 homes. The pressure spike did not reach the so-called "maximum allowable operating pressure' for the line before it burst.
The NTSB also asked federal pipeline regulators to alert operators nationwide to safety issues raised by the inaccurate PG&E records.
"While it may seem like a small paperwork error,Ray Ban Sunglasses Sale if companies are basing operating pressures on inadequate or erroneous information contained in their records, safety may be compromised," NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a statement.
The San Bruno pipeline blew up at a series of segments that were seam-welded and not all made by the same manufacturer, the NTSB said. Yet records kept by PG&E indicated it was a potentially stronger seamless pipe made by one company, Consolidated Western Steel Corp. The maker of some of the smaller sections has not yet been determined, the board said.
"Either prove you know what is under the ground or do the kind of testing to make sure that these pipes are properly placed," Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, said during a press conference at her office in San Mateo Monday afternoon.. "If you don't know what is under the ground then you cannot possibly be operating a system safely."
Speier said a man who Discount Ray Ban Sunglasses was part of the construction of the San Bruno pipeline contacted her office and has pictures of the pipe when it was constructed. She said he had concerns at the time about the safety of the construction, but she did not elaborate on those concerns. She said the man has been interviewed by the NTSB.
"I'm sure his comments and issues will be addressed in their final report," said Speier.
The NTSB asked PG&E to pressure test segments for which it cannot establish a maximum allowable operating pressure using two methods, Coach outlet both of them involving water pressure to detect weak points.
Such "hydrostatic" testing is considered one of the best ways to inspect aging pipelines for weaknesses, but it is time consuming and expensive.
The board issued a separate recommendation asking the California Public Utilities Commission to make sure the utility "aggressively and diligently" reviews its records and to oversee testing of pipeline sections to determine safe operating pressures.
PG&E has inspected most of its line using direct assessment,Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses which detects external corrosion but is not good at detecting weld weakness. The San Bruno segment was inspected using that method.
Most experts say that a pressure test could have revealed weaknesses in the San Bruno pipeline segments.
Urgent recommendations by the board are fairly rare. In 2009, of its 240 safety recommendations only about a dozen were classified as urgent, according to NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson.
In addition, the board is planning to hold a hearing on the San Bruno blast, which is also a rare occurrence. Since 2000, the agency has only conducted 24 hearings, and only one of those involved pipelines.
Its recommendations Monday noted that it is "critical" to consider all of the characteristics of a pipeline before establishing a maximum operating pressure.
"We believe this safety-critical issue needs to be examined carefully to ensure that operators are accurately gauging their risk and that pipelines are being operated at pressures no higher than that for which they were built to withstand," NTSB chairman Hersman said.
The NTSB asked the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to alert pipeline operators throughout the nation about the inaccurate records so they Ray Ban Sunglasses On Sale can "implement any corrective measures for their respective pipeline systems."
It also asked the CPUC, which regulates California pipelines, to alert pipeline operators in the state about the record-keeping problems.
The NTSB is not a regulatory agency. It investigates pipeline, airline and other accidents and makes recommendations to operators and regulatory agencies. PHMSA regulates all national, interstate pipelines. California's natural gas lines are classified as intrastate lines and are regulated by the CPUC.
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