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Analysis of pipeline accidents in the United States from 1968 to 2009

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  • Siler-Evans, Kyle
  • Hanson, Alex
  • Sunday, Cecily
  • Leonard, Nathan
  • Tumminello, Michele

Abstract

Pipelines are responsible for the transportation of a significant portion of the U.S. energy supply. Unfortunately, pipeline failures are common and the consequences can be catastrophic. Drawing on data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) that covers approximately 40,000 incidents from 1968 to 2009, this paper explores the trends, causes and consequences of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline accidents. The analysis indicates that fatalities and injuries from pipeline accidents are generally decreasing over time, while property damage and, in some cases, the numbers of incidents are increasing over time. In five of the ten cases considered in this paper, the damage from pipeline accidents – in terms of injuries, fatalities and volume of product spilled – are well characterized by a power-law distribution, indicating that catastrophic pipeline accidents are more likely than would be predicted by more common “thin-tailed” distributions. The results also indicate that relatively few accidents account for a large share of total property damage, while smaller, single-fatality and single-injury incidents account for a large share of total fatalities and injuries (43% versus 32%, respectively).

Suggested Citation

  • Siler-Evans, Kyle & Hanson, Alex & Sunday, Cecily & Leonard, Nathan & Tumminello, Michele, 2014. "Analysis of pipeline accidents in the United States from 1968 to 2009," International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 257-269.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ijocip:v:7:y:2014:i:4:p:257-269
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcip.2014.09.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Restrepo, Carlos E. & Simonoff, Jeffrey S. & Zimmerman, Rae, 2009. "Causes, cost consequences, and risk implications of accidents in US hazardous liquid pipeline infrastructure," International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 38-50.
    2. Felder, Frank A., 2009. "A critical assessment of energy accident studies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 5744-5751, December.
    3. Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2008. "The costs of failure: A preliminary assessment of major energy accidents, 1907-2007," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1802-1820, May.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zhiqiang Xie & Fengshan Jiang & Jiarui Xu & Zhengang Zhai & Jianglong He & Daoyang Zheng & Junyu Lian & Zhiqun Hou & Lei Zhao & Yanxia Wang & Yuyun Feng, 2023. "A Narrative of Urban Underground Pipeline System Disasters in China in 2021: Spatial and Temporal Distribution, Causal Analysis, and Response Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-23, June.
    3. Jihong Ye & Yiyang Fang & Xinxiang Yang, 2022. "Vulnerability Analysis of Harbor Oil Pipeline Affected by Typhoon," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-17, September.
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    5. Richard A. Schultz & Douglas W. Hubbard & David J. Evans & Sam L. Savage, 2020. "Characterization of Historical Methane Occurrence Frequencies from U.S. Underground Natural Gas Storage Facilities with Implications for Risk Management, Operations, and Regulatory Policy," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(3), pages 588-607, March.
    6. Shengli, Liu & Yongtu, Liang, 2019. "Exploring the temporal structure of time series data for hazardous liquid pipeline incidents based on complex network theory," International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).

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