SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Pacific Gas and Electric Co. knew of at least 26 leaks on its San Bruno, Calif., natural gas transmission line since the 1950s, a review of records indicated.
A Sept. 9, 2010, explosion ejected a 28-foot section of pipeline out of the ground, causing a fireball in a San Bruno neighborhood that left eight people dead and 38 homes destroyed.
The National Transportation Safety Board found PG&E didn't know what kind of pipe was beneath San Bruno. The pipeline was installed in the 1950s and PG&E had said the pipeline was seamless. The NTSB, however, said no manufacturer had produced that type of pipeline at the time it was installed.
The NTSB as early as January said defective welds contributed to the explosion.
The San Francisco Chronicle, in an independent review of inspection reports, found PG&E recorded at least 26 leaks on the San Bruno line since the 1950s. Most listed the cause as "unknown."
PG&E spokesman David Eisenhauer told the newspaper his company was looking forward by taking a lessons-learned approach to the disaster.
"We are committed to learning from mistakes," he was quoted as saying. "But publicly rehashing issues over and over about things we may or may not have done wrong decades ago does not serve that purpose of making our system safer."
PG&E during its inspections were looking for corrosion on the San Bruno line, not weld seam failures.
