Proposed School to Be Steps Away from Dangerous Pipelines
by Claudia Vargas, NBC 10 Philadelphia (December 6, 2021) – Pipeline Safety Trust executive director Bill Caram says Rose Tree Media catchment area parents have reason to be concerned about the district’s proposal. “I am surprised that a new school would be built so close to a gas transmission line because we all want to keep our kids safe and the lines do pose a risk,” Caram said. If gas were to leak out an ignite, it could cause an explosion, such as the one in 2016 outside of Pittsburgh. That incident severely burned and injured a man, and destroyed a quarter mile of land, including at least one home. Caram said that based on the size and pressure of the pipes, the blast radius could extend 400 feet. “But there’s a BIG asterisk on that number given the other pipelines running through the property,” Caram said in an e-mail “Also the grade of the property and where the proposed building would be sited have a big impact on potential risk as well.” Caram added that a Potential Impact Radius is usually determined through a risk assessment report. But so far, the Rose Tree Media School District has not commissioned such a report– at least not one that has been disclosed publicly.
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