************************************************************
NTSB PRESS RELEASE ************************************************************ National
Transportation Safety Board Washington, DC
20594 FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: September 15, 2010 SB-10-38 ************************************************************ NTSB CHAIRMAN
UPDATES CONGRESS ON PROGRESS OF INVESTIGATION
INTO MARSHALL, MICHIGAN PIPELINE LEAK ************************************************************ National
Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman today
provided an update to a U.S. House of Representatives
committee on the progress of the NTSB's investigation
into an oil spill in Marshall, Michigan in July. Testifying before
the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
Chairman Hersman reported that, although an official National
Response Center report on the oil release was not issued
until almost 1:30 p.m. on Monday, July 26, the leak may have
started as early as the previous evening. Safety Board
investigators arrived at the scene on Tuesday and found that
the section of pipeline that ruptured was located in a
swampy, wetland area, which was further saturated by the
volume of oil that had spilled (estimated to be as much as
1 million gallons). "Although
many aspects of NTSB investigations are technical in nature, we are
ever-cognizant of the collateral cost of accidents such as
this," Chairman Hersman said. "The economic and
environmental consequences of a spill of this magnitude are
significant." The pipeline is
owned and operated by Enbridge Energy Partners of
Calgary, Canada. The NTSB was able to remove and transport two
sections of pipe, each exceeding 20 feet in length, from
the accident site to its Training Center in Ashburn, Virginia
for examination (the same facility where the section of
pipe from last week's San Bruno accident is being shipped). Hersman listed
areas of progress in this investigation so far, such as
completion of documentation of the coating system on the
pipe and nondestructive testing of the ruptured pipe
piece that found surface cracks and indications of
corrosion. She outlined six
areas of inquiry the NTSB will pursue in this
investigation: * Supervisory
Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) data. SCADA is a
system used by pipeline companies to monitor performance
of their systems in real time. * Pipeline
controller performance. * Operator
notification and spill response. * Responses
to 9-1-1 calls. * Inspection
and maintenance history of the pipeline. * Oversight
activities and actions of the Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration. Last week,
another Enbridge pipeline leaked oil in Illinois. That accident is
being investigated by the NTSB, and the section of pipe
that failed is being shipped to the Board's Ashburn facility
for evaluation. Chairman
Hersman's testimony is available on the Board's website at http://www.ntsb.gov/Speeches/hersman/daph100915.html. - 30 - NTSB Media
Contact: Ted Lopatkiewicz (202)
314-6100 lopatt@xxxxxxxx ************************************************************ This message is
delivered to you as a free service from the National
Transportation Safety Board. You may
unsubscribe at any time at http://www.ntsb.gov/registration/registration.htm
An archive of
press releases is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/pressrel/pressrel.htm Current job
opportunities with the NTSB are listed at http://www.ntsb.gov/vacancies/listing.htm For
questions/problems, contact pubinq@xxxxxxxx |