US to announce program to repair aging pipelines

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

US to announce program to repair aging pipelines
Posted: Apr 03, 2011 11:51 PM CDT
Updated: Apr 03, 2011 11:51 PM CDT

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Federal transportation officials are launching a program to repair and replace aging oil and gas pipelines across the nation to prevent potential catastrophic explosions such as a recent deadly blasts in eastern Pennsylvania.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is scheduled to announce the initiative on Monday in Allentown, where the Feb. 9 pipeline explosion leveled homes and businesses and killed five people, including an elderly couple and a 4-month-old boy.

Last September, a 44-year-old gas transmission line ruptured in San Bruno, Calif., killing eight people, injuring dozens and leaving 55 homes uninhabitable. Investigators have said the pipe had numerous flawed welds. And In Philadelphia in January, a gas main explosion sent a 50-foot fireball into the sky, killing a utility worker, injuring six people and forcing dozens from their homes.



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