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Table 2-46: Hazardous Liquid and Natural Gas Pipeline Safety and Property Damage Data

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  1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Fatalities                                          
Total hazardous liquid 4 7 4 5 3 0 5 0 1 3 5 0 2 4 1 0 1 0 5 2 0
Total gas 26 8 15 28 6 14 10 17 21 18 48 10 19 18 37 7 11 12 (R) 18 (R) 14 19
Gas transmission U U 1 6 0 0 3 1 0 2 1 1 1 2 15 2 1 1 (R) 0 (R) 0 3
Gas distribution U U 14 22 6 14 7 16 21 16 47 9 18 16 22 5 10 11 18 (R) 14 16
Injured persons                                          
Total hazardous liquid 21 17 15 18 7 9 38 10 (a) 1,858 11 13 5 6 20 4 10 0 5 16 2 2
Total gas 233 214 177 108 69 89 80 101 113 53 114 72 75 88 77 51 49 66 44 (R) 45 29
Gas transmission U U 13 12 17 12 15 17 22 10 5 5 11 8 18 5 5 8 3 7 4
Gas distribution U U 164 96 52 77 65 84 91 43 109 67 64 80 59 46 44 58 41 (R) 38 25
Incidents                                          
Total hazardous liquid 351 254 246 183 180 216 212 229 245 188 194 171 153 167 146 130 147 131 (R) 144 (R) 137 107
Total gas 1,077 1,338 1,524 334 198 233 177 216 222 161 187 175 236 172 234 211 184 (R) 238 (R) 297 (R) 352 272
Gas transmission U U 389 129 89 71 74 95 81 64 77 73 99 54 80 87 82 (R) 97 (R) 123 (R) 182 137
Gas distribution U U 1,135 205 109 162 103 121 141 97 110 102 137 118 154 124 102 (R) 141 (R) 174 (R) 170 135
Property damage (current $ millions)                                          
Total hazardous liquid 1.2 2.2 5.7 5.1 15.7 37.8 39.1 28.9 62.2 32.5 85.1 55.2 63.3 86.4 180.2 25.3 (R) 47.4 (R) 49.4 (R) 145.8 (R) 94.8 48.0
Total gas 3.3 5.0 10.0 22.9 18.9 19.7 31.4 38.4 98.4 20.9 29.3 24.6 63.5 43.6 41.3 37.7 (R) 50.5 (R) 70.6 (R) 105.5 (R) 767.0 71.0
Gas transmission U U 8.8 13.4 11.3 11.9 24.6 23.0 45.2 10.0 13.1 12.1 44.5 17.7 17.9 23.7 (R) 26.7 (R) 49.5 (R) 68.2 (R) 269.3 48.2
Gas distribution U U 1.2 9.5 7.6 7.8 6.8 15.3 53.3 11.0 16.3 12.5 19.1 25.9 23.4 14.1 23.8 (R) 21.0 (R) 37.3 (R) 497.7 22.9

KEY: R = revised; U = data are not available.

a Includes 1,851 injuries requiring medical treatment reported for accidents caused by severe flooding near Houston, TX, in October 1994.

NOTES

Beginning with 1985 data, pipeline incidents are credited to the year in which they occurred, not the year in which the report was received. Gas numbers represent sum of transmission and gathering and distribution operators.

Property damage includes, but is not limited to, damage to the operator's facilities and to the property of others; gas lost; restoration of service and relighting; facility repair and replacement; leak locating; right-of-way cleanup; and environmental cleanup and damage.

Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

SOURCES

1970-85: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety, personal communication.

1990-2005: U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety, Internet site http://ops.dot.gov/stats/stats.htm as of Feb. 21, 2007.