At 1:51 a.m. on August 2, 1975, an 8-inch pipeline which was owned by the Sun Pipe Line Company ruptured in Romulus, Michigan. Propane escaped from the rupture, sprayed into the air, vaporized, and then ignited; flames 500 feet high engulfed a 600-foot-diameter area. The fire burned nine persons, destroyed four houses and damaged three others, burned 12 vehicles, and consumed 2,389 barrels of propane. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the propagation of surface cracks in a section of 8-inch pipe, which had been dented and gouged previously. The cracks propagated when a valve which had been closed against the pipeline stream caused an abnormally high pressure to develop at the leak site. Contributing to the accident was the inadequate inspection during construction.


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    Title :

    Sun Pipe Line Company, Rupture of 8-Inch Pipeline, Romulus, Michigan, August 2, 1975


    Publication date :

    1976


    Size :

    24 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English