Repair Pipelines!

Science Demands it!

The peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters has published a study showing replacing aging gas pipeline had a tremendous effect on reducing the number and severity of leaks.

That seems obvious, right?

In an article in the Stanford Report, science professor at Stanford and co-author of the study Rob Jackson somewhat echoed that thought but went a step further.

 

“The surprise wasn’t that replacement programs worked, it was that they worked so well,” Jackson said.

Part of this study included driving hundreds of miles in three U.S. cities, Durham, North Carolina; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Manhattan, New York, measuring natural gas leaks with methane-sensing instruments.

The amount of methane leaks measured in Durham and Cincinnati, which have each had successful pipeline-replacement programs, were significantly lower than in Manhattan and two previously measured cities, Boston, Massachusetts and Washington D.C., which have not been as quick to repair pipeline infrastructure.

According to the study’s abstract, “Cities with successful pipeline replacement programs have 90% fewer leaks per mile than cities without such programs. Similar programs around the world should provide additional environmental, economic, and consumer safety benefits.”