More bodies found and more skeletons in the closet.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39120986/ns/us_news-life
In 2008 the City of San Bruno City replaced underground sewer lines in the area of the pipeline explosion. D'Arcy and Harty Construction replaced sewer pipes on Earl Avenue the sewer work crossed the gas pipeline at the explosion site, intersection of Earl and Glenview. To avoid excavating near the gas line the contractor used a method called "pipe bursting." Crews pulled a large tapered device through the old 6-inch sewer pipes, bursting them and then pulled a new 10-inch polyethylene sewer pipe though the hole. PG&E vice president Geisha Williams said PG&E inspected the gas line before and after the sewer work and found no problems. She said the gas line also was inspected in 2009 for corrosion.
The problem with the inspection was that only the interior of the pipe could be inspected. Not knowing if the sewer line was above or below the gas line there are several posssibilities.
If the sewer line crossed anywhere very close to the gas line there should have been a concrete saddle installed to prevent pipe to pipe contact, a great location for corrosion. The pipe bursting tool could have contacted the gas line since it was much bigger than the sewer line and even if it did not damage the pipe it could have scraped off the anticorrosion coating. Since it was an old sewer line it could have easily been leaking sewerage for years which would accelerate the possibililty of corrosion of the steel gas line. A little displacement of the steel pipe could have intitiated and crack in the stell made brittle due to the long exposure to gas.
Paul in PA
Very interesting and possible theory.
Speaking of Theories.........
........for those 9-11 conspiracy theorists on here, did you see how many people believe a plane had crashed?
(The site is directly under one of the landing patterns for SFIA.)
Here are some quotes from early reports:
“I thought it was a plane crash,” Karen Yee, who lives seven houses from the explosion, said in an interview. “I looked at it in disbelief, and said, ‘Is it coming this way?’”
Jane Porcelli, 62, said she lives on a hill above where the fire is centered. She said she thought she heard a plane overhead with a struggling engine.
"Officials initially blamed the fire on a plane crash, according to the New York Times, but no planes were reported missing in the area."
"I was outside watering my lawn when I started hearing this noise that really sounded like an airplane engine. A very low airplane engine, it vibrated my whole body," Barajas said. "Then I heard one more loud noise, then there was an explosion. I was facing toward it and then I saw a big fire-ball going up and it just turned into really black smoke."
"Highway 280 to Highway 35 N. is closed. The fire, centered around San Bruno Avenue and Skyline Blvd., has prompted the evacuation of the area. CBS 5 says, " Many residents have reported seeing a plane go down. Others felt a huge shock wave, and heard an explosion. "
I am now waiting for the "plane crash" conspiracy theorists to start chiming in.
Don't laugh
Angelo's post will now probably be quoted by the nut-job websites as evidence that the explosion was a terrorist act. Then we can use it as an excuse to invade and occupy another country.
Speaking of Theories.........
As one who has lived through and worked a site, the Murrah Building attack, then I have seen first hand the initial accounts by those near the site.
As the blast shook our building and knocked us to the floor then we thought our boiler had exploded. Then we heard that a commercial flight had crashed. Many said they heard the sounds of a distressed plane before the explosion.
None were right. It was a rental truck with a ton of fertilizer inside.
But more close to this I was working in Useless, Texas (Euless) when a welder sparked a blast a the Union Texas facility which we were working at. The blast was not like a bomb but built and sounded like a freight train or an airplane engine before the actually sound of the explosion and all the fire.
People tend to equate sounds with something familiar to them in a crisis situation. So you get these false reports.
I'm not buying the pipe bursting theory though at this point. You can only go up about 2" or so in size and the separation should have been fine between the sewer, which is likely concrete or some type plastic line, while the HP gas would have certainly been steel and with a wrap for insulation.
