Lincoln County pipeline explosion: the aftermath

Two weeks ago in Kentucky’s Lincoln County, a section of natural gas pipeline blew up into a massive fireball, destroying homes and killing one person.

Now, the WHAS11-TV FOCUS investigative team has revealed that state and local health officials want to test ash from the fire to see if it contains dangerous material. Those officials also want to make sure residents and first-responders aren’t suffering from breathing problems.

Lincoln County pipeline explosion:
Previous incident back in May

Just three months before the Aug. 1 explosion, there was another incident along the pipeline. Back on May 8, residents on Givens Lane took video of gas escaping from the Texas Eastern transmission compressor station.

“It sounded just like a jet engine going off,” Cody Young, a resident, said when he spoke with WHAS reporter John Charlton.

Young told Charlton that the plant releases gas routinely for maintenance, but this roaring release – which in Young’s video could be seen shooting into the sky – was different and much longer. “It went on for 45 minutes to an hour,” Young said.

The federal government timed it out to just over 40 minutes, according to official records. According to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) incident report, more than 19-million cubic feet of natural gas shot up into the sky – that is more than 232,000 gallons.

“I was like, ‘This place sounds like it’s going to blow up,’ ” Young said.

PHMSA officials pinpointed the cause as a tripped breaker that shorted a wire and caused a valve to get stuck.

The plant provides pressure to Line 15, the same pipeline that, 4 miles away, ruptured and exploded into a huge fireball on Aug. 1 as people slept on Mitchell Lane.

Health officials in Kentucky want to test ash from the Aug. 1 Lincoln County pipeline explosion and fire to see if it contains dangerous material.

Lincoln County pipeline explosion:
One person died and five were hurt

One person died, five others were injured, and their homes were destroyed in the Aug. 1 explosion in Lincoln County’s Moreland community, between Junction City and Hustonville.

Witnesses photographed the immediate aftermath of the explosion, which sent a fireball high into the sky. Images and video reveal bright orange flames and thick clouds of smoke in the dark, early-morning sky.

“It was just a big roar and fire going all the way up the sky as far as you can see,” one resident who asked not to be named told WKYT-TV. “Our windows were shaking really bad. You can hear the ground just moving and tumbling and rolling.”

At least six structures caught fire and were destroyed in the blast, and about 75 residents were evacuated while firefighters battled the numerous blazes.

Lincoln County pipeline explosion:
Residents worried about future

Said Young: “I’m ready to move, to say the least.”

He said he’s putting his house up for sale, although he is skeptical it will sell. “It had to have decreased property value all around,” he said of the explosion.

Young said he thinks the area is not safe, and you can call that an expert opinion, based on what Young does for a living.

“I lay pipe for a living too, so I know when you get a piece metal in the ground, it’s going to corrode,” Young said.

Lincoln County pipeline explosion:
Pipes are nearly 70 years old

According to federal officials, the underground pipelines are approaching 70 years old.

“I wouldn’t want to just leave one in the ground, holding all that pressure on it and then wait for it to blow up, you know?” Young said.

The Texas Eastern pipeline is owned and operated by Enbridge Inc., a Canadian multinational energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. Enbridge officials said they are continuing to analyze and inspect the pipeline to ensure that the explosion didn’t jeopardize other parts of the pipeline. They said they also are inspecting two other pipelines that run parallel to the Texas Eastern line.