About 6:20 p.m., P.s.t., on December 1, 1980, a pipeline transporting naphtha ruptured under the road at the intersection of 28th Street and Gale Avenue in Long Beach, California. Escaping product under high pressure blew a hole through the pavement and sprayed into the air up to 20 feet and then flowed into the gutters. Moments later, the product was ignited by an undetermined source. The ensuing flames reached a height of approximately 70 feet. As a result of the fire, 5 persons were injured, 1 house was destroyed, 11 houses sustained moderate to severe damage, and 11 motor vehicles were destroyed. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the overpressure of the pipeline and its rupture at a point where the pipe wall had been thinned by internal corrosion. The overpressure occurred because valves were closed against the pipeline stream at two delivery locations while the pumps at the origin points continued to operate. Contributing to the accident was the lack of communication and instrumentation to enable the dispatchers in the pipeline control center to effectively monitor the pipeline's operation. Delay in identifying the failed pipeline and further delay in closing valves to stop the flow of naphtha fueling the fire prolonged the fire and hampered the firefighters' efforts.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Pipeline Accident Report--Four Corners Pipe Line Company, Pipeline Rupture and Fire, Long Beach, California, December 1, 1980


    Publication date :

    1981


    Size :

    40 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English