WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- With fire officials in California testifying they had no idea a natural gas pipeline ran through their district, safety officials expressed concern over risk awareness.
The National Transportation Safety Board is hearing testimony from people connected to a September gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, Calif., that left eight people dead and destroyed dozens of homes.
Federal laws enacted in 2006 require pipeline operators to issue public alerts warning people of potential hazards. NTSB officials questioned the effectiveness of such laws after San Bruno Fire Chief Dennis Haag testified that he had no idea a pipeline operated by Pacific Gas and Electric ran through his district. It had been installed about 50 years ago.
PG&E officials alerted its consumers in the monthly bills of informational events for public officials. Few people, however, responded to company questionnaires about pipeline information, The Wall Street Journal reports.
NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman raised questions during the testimony about whether awareness campaigns were successful.
PG&E officials defended their program before the NTSB panel but confessed the public response was "unacceptable" prompting executives to question the campaign.
