Updated story 11:22 AM
Stress corrosion cracking led to the 2018 Enbridge pipeline rupture 13 kilometres northeast of Prince George.
According to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB), deficiencies in predicting the extent of the cracking and a deferred inspection led to a hazard being undetected prior to the rupture.
The inspection was scheduled for 2017 but was deferred until the fall of 2018, meaning the existing cracks went undetected.
TSB Senior Investigator, Jennifer Philopoulos told MyPGNow.com this decision played a big role in the rupture.
“There is a likelihood that if the inspection had been done in 2017, and the inspection technology that would have been used would have captured the size of the crack, that would have been present at that time.”
Enbridge Senior Vice-President and Chief Operations Officer for the Gas and Midstream Business, Michele Harradence stated the company is doing all it can to regain the trust of the surrounding community and the Lheidli T’enneh.
“We want to work with the Chief-and-council to build a positive and mutually beneficial relationship and we want to see how we can build those shared priorities of safety, environmental protection, and economic development.”
Harradance adds Enbridge is chalking this up as a learning experience.
“We know this incident has caused concern and disrupted the lives of many people in the area and we absolutely apologize for that. We are very committed to have learned from this incident and we are taking steps to ensure the safety of our natural gas system.”
Since the explosion took place, Enbridge has completed a comprehensive pipeline integrity program on its natural gas pipeline system in BC to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“It’s actually the most aggressive program we have ever done on a system in BC and is aggressive as you’ll find in our industry. It’s really part of a new approach to pipelines and safety across all of our gas transmission assets,” added Harradence.
In February of 2019, the Lheidli T’enneh filed a lawsuit against Enbridge following the pipeline burst.
The host first nation claimed inadequate communication and the lack of emergency response from Enbridge was two of the main reasons behind the lawsuit.
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Original Story 8:13 AM
The Transportation Safety Board has unveiled its report outlining the Enbridge Pipeline rupture and fire near Prince George in October in 2018.
The organization found that stress corrosion cracking led to the rupture resulting in the blaze.
Deficiencies in predicting the extent of the cracking and a deferred inspection led to a hazard being undetected prior to the rupture according to the TSB.
Following the rupture, the natural gas being transported was released and ignited.
No injuries were reported but 125 residents within a two-kilometre radius were evacuated.
In February of 2019, the Lheidli T’enneh filed a lawsuit against Enbridge following the pipeline burst.
The host first nation claims inadequate communication and the lack of emergency response from Enbridge were two of the main reasons behind the lawsuit.
In December, it was announced that the Enbridge West Coast Pipeline is operating at full capacity.
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