Corrosion cracking blamed for Brookdale gas blast

TransCanada PipeLines could have done more to prevent a natural-gas pipeline explosion in Brookdale, according to a report from the Transportation Safety Board.

The April 2002 explosion near Brookdale, about 65 kilometres northeast of Brandon, forced 100 people from their homes and created flames that could be seen 150 kilometres away. The fire was extinguished after gas to the damaged line was cut off, but the blast left a crater in the ground some 100 metres long and 20 metres wide.

• April 15, 2002: Gas pipeline explodes in western Manitoba
  

Both TransCanada PipeLines and the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) blame corrosion cracking for the blast.

In a report released Tuesday, the TSB says TransCanada PipeLines did not use an in-line crack detection device, in spite of a history of stress corrosion cracking in that section of pipe.

The agency notes the latest generation of in-line inspection tools can detect and assess zones of cracking, and could have identified the problem before the explosion. At the time of the blast, the technology had been available for three years.

The Transportation Safety Board also found the trigger for alerting TransCanada's gas control centre in Calgary was not reached until several minutes after the rupture. Investigators say the pipeline could have also been shut down earlier.

A spokesperson for TransCanada says the company has gone to great lengths to make its system safer since the explosion, investing $13 million to try to detect other stress corrosion cracks. Their research did not detect any other cases.

TransCanada PipeLines is responsible for about 38,000 km of pipeline, which transports much of the natural gas produced in western Canada.

Related News: