Picture Book Pipeline Failure

For those of you that complain that my comments on pipelines are too technical, here is the picture book version of a serious accident. This occurred in Bellingham, WA during 1999, on a 16-inch fuel pipeline that is nearly identical to the one passing near SJHHS. When it was over, three young bystanders were dead.



Details of this incident are available at numerous places online, and here.


This photo depicts the section of the pipeline that ruptured at Bellingham. External damage to the pipe as a result of excavation that occurred years before the accident contributed to this failure. Some of the damage is clearly visible on either side of the point of rupture.