Inspection Trends / Spring 2011 9 Since the San Bruno incident, the company has taken a number of actions including substantially reducing the pressure on pipelines of similar size and vintage as the San Bruno pipeline for which it has not completed pressure testing; donating $10 million to a new independent, nonprofit foundation for research and development of advanced pipeline inspection and diagnostic tools; and launched an interactive online tool that allows customers to find the location of transmission pipelines in their own neighborhoods (www.pge.com/pipelinelocations). The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is continuing its investigation into the San Bruno disaster, but in January, it issued seven safety recommendations, six of them classified as “urgent.” The recommendations were issued in part to address record-keeping problems that could create conditions in which a pipeline is operated at a higher pressure than the pipe was built to withstand. In an investigative update the NTSB issued Dec. 14, 2010, investigators found that although PG&E’s records indicated that the pipeline in the area of the rupture was constructed of seamless pipe, it was instead, at least in part, constructed of longitudinal seam-welded pipe. In addition, some of the seams of this section of pipeline were welded from both the inside and outside of the pipe, while others were welded only from the outside. The NTSB was concerned that the seam-welded sections may not be as strong as the seamless pipe indicated in PG&E’s records and that these inaccurate records may lead to potentially unsafe MAOPs. Laboratory Testing Chooses Chemistry and Metallography Lab Manager Lee Dilks of Lahaska, Pa., has been promoted to manager of the Chemistry and Metallography Labs at Laboratory Testing, Inc. (LTI), Hatfield, Pa. The two laboratories are part of the company’s Destructive Testing department and perform a wide range of materials testing and failure analysis services. Dilks has been with LTI for 23 years, holding positions of increasing responsibility in the Chemistry Dept. For the past seven years, he has been chemistry supervisor. Lee Dilks Spitzer Industries Acquires Advanced Inspection Technologies Spitzer Industries, Inc., Houston, Tex., recently completed its acquisition of Advanced Inspection Technologies (AIT), which is also Houston based. AIT specializes in performing NDE of welds and base materials using phased array ultrasonic testing and computed radiography, and also performs inspections using ASNT, Bringing Thousands of Minds To NDT Matters, Including Yours. Join the Professional Society That Brings the NDT Community & Its Resources To You. The American Society for Nondestructive Testing Serving the Profession, Creating a Safer World. www.asnt.org For info go to www.aws.org/ad-index
Inspection Trends - April 2011 - Spring
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