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The parent company of Columbia Gas, the utility whose exploding gas linescaused deadly explosions and fires in Massachusetts, is linked to three prior gas explosions around the country,USA Todayreports.
On Thursday, explosions and fires in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover left one teen dead, some 25 injured and scores of buildings damaged or destroyed.
In 2012, a technician accidentally punctured a gas line in Springfield, Massachusetts, leading to an explosion that injured 18 people, destroyed a building and damaged dozens of other structures,The Boston Globereports.
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In West Virginia, a pipeline that exploded in 2012 destroyed three homes,USA Todayreports. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded that the cause was related to a Columbia Gas transmission pipeline that had corroded and deteriorated, and had not been inspected or tested since after 1988, according to the outlet.
In Ohio, state investigators determined in 2015 that a Columbia Gas of Ohio explosion and fire that damaged 28 homes and caused millions in property damage was due to an “improperly abandoned” natural gas line, reportsUSA Todayand theGlobe.
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In a statement to PEOPLE, a NiSource spokesperson said: “There is no higher priority at NiSource than safety. We monitor our major pipeline systems 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We periodically inspect our mains and service lines for leaks throughout our service territory, and if these inspections turn up any hazardous conditions, we address those immediately. We respond quickly to reports of gas odors and, again, if we find any hazardous conditions during our inspection, we address those immediately. We’re also engaged in a long-term, $20 billion modernization of our natural gas pipeline systems across our 7 states.
Columbia Gas president Steve Bryant defended his company’s responseat a Friday press conference.
“We have been using all our resources to get this project as far down the road as possible,” Bryant said. “I respect the governor’s judgment. The governor has the same interest as we do: we want to restore service to these customers.”
Bryant also said that the company will cooperate with the investigation.
On Sunday morning,Baker announcedthat the thousands of displaced residents of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover could return home.
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“We still have a long way to go, but I am so happy that people can return back home this morning,”Baker said in a tweet. “There will be 120 representatives from the utilities out in neighborhoods in the three communities to assist with any questions people may have as they return home.”
One of Thursday’s explosions killed 18-year-old Leonel Rondon, who had just gotten his driver’s license. Rondon was sitting in the passenger seat of a car parked in a Lawrence driveway, talking with friends, when a chimney hurtled onto the vehicle.
“The family is broken apart,”a friend told theBoston Herald. “It’s tough.”
source: people.com
