L30005 Possible Means for Prevention of External Damage to Pipelines

Pipeline companies in the United States have, over the years, demonstrated an outstanding record of public and employee safety, even though the industry has gone through a period of unprecedented growth since the mid- 1940’s. This record is the result of a responsible and continuing program to improve the design, construction, and operation of the over 220,000 miles of pipeline. Failures in pipelines caused by humans operating mechanical equipment such as graders, bulldozers, ditchers, etc., appear to be increasing slightly, whereas failures from all other causes have decreased. This program was carried out to determine the causes and to develop recommendations to reduce the incidence of externally caused failures.

An analysis was made of a number of externally caused incidents and company policies pertinent to this type of incident. This analysis was based on detailed information obtained from a selected group of cooperating pipeline companies and it resulted in a number of conclusions and recommendations.