An analysis of the pipeline failure that spilled 200,000 gallons of Athabasca dilbit in Mayflower, Arkansas concluded there was a manufacturing fault in the pipe.
Here's the thing. The pipe that failed was 70-years old. Who knows, maybe your great-grandfather had a hand in its construction? But this geriatric pipeline was just a fluke, right? No, not at all.
Citing an ongoing investigation, both Exxon and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) waited nearly a month after receiving the report before releasing the details to Arkansas newspaper Log Cabin Democrat Thursday.
Implications of the report are significant as it shows that pipelines "similarly manufactured, and in the same era as the ruptured line in Mayflower, are inferior and susceptible to failure," the Democrat reports.
A pipeline industry insider who declined to be named told Common Dreams that there are "tens of thousands of miles of pipeline in the ground and operating from the approximate vintage" as the Pegasus pipeline.
"The fact of the matter is, any pre-1970s pipeline was manufactured with old technologies," John Tynan, Watershed Protection Manager with Central Arkansas Water, told Common Dreams.
"The only way to eliminate their risk is to completely remove the pipelines and shut down the operation," he added.
What is a product as corrosive and toxic as Athabasca dilbit, that requires such high pressure to pump, doing in antiquated, "old technology" pipelines?
Is there a lesson in this for eastern Canada. The Energy East pipeline deal to carry Athabasca bitumen to New Brunswick for refining and export won't involve much new pipe.
"70 per cent of the pipeline is already in the ground in the form of TransCanada’s existing Alberta-to-Ontario natural gas pipeline that will be converted to accept oil."
So, let's get this straight. That million barrels a day flow of bitumen will cross Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, in an old, natural gas pipeline. Hmm, what could go wrong?
Then again, if Enbridge is promising the Americans that Keystone XL will be a brand new, high-technology, state of the art pipeline constructed from scratch, why are Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario being stuck with a recycled, natural gas line of undetermined vintage? Could it be they're being put at risk to save a few bucks?
