Pipeline activists warn of ‘dangers’ of carbon dioxide pipelines, but backers say process safe

Pipeline activists warn of ‘dangers’ of carbon dioxide pipelines, but backers say process safe

By Ben Singson, My Journal Courier (Oct. 21, 2022)

Pipeline Safety Trust Executive Director Bill Caram said carbon dioxide was typically transported in a supercritical state, with properties of both a liquid and gas. Pipeline failures can cause a rapid drop in pressure and temperature, he said, and carbon dioxide sticks close to the ground in potentially dangerous amounts.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is in the process of making new rules for pipeline safety, Caram said, but rules take years to be put in place and the agency would have to overcome some hurdles to enforce them. 

“It is clear to me that we are not ready to safely build these pipelines and if we do, people could die,” he said.