California Officials Urge PG&E To Replace Potentially Hazardous Gas Pipes
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— A task force formed by the state Public Utilities Commission after the San Bruno pipeline disaster released a report on Wednesday on their findings about DuPont pipes made out of a plastic called adelaide.
Peninsula Congresswoman Jackie Speier has described the pipe, used in PG&E distribution lines, as a ticking time bomb.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
"The National Transportation Safety Board had recommended to the industry probably 10 years ago that they should replace or shouldn't have even used that pipe," she said.
Adelaide pipes are used in smaller distribution lines that deliver gas directly into homes and other buildings, not like the larger transmission lines like the one that exploded in San Bruno in 2010.
However, the pipe in question was involved in two smaller blasts last year; one in Cupertino and one in Roseville.
Speier said PG&E told her they are committed to replacing all the adelaide piping in their system, which according to Speier, contains over 1,000 miles of the material.
That agreement, according to Speier, was made late last year and will take a couple of years to complete.
Assemblyman Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) is also requiring legislation that would require state regulators act on NTSB gas safety recommendations.
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