On October 31, 2016, at 2:47 p.m., local time, while excavating, a contractor damaged the Colonial Pipeline Company's (Colonial) 36-inch diameter refined liquid petroleum transmission pipeline, known as Line 1, near Helena, Alabama. The damage resulted in a release of gasoline from the pipeline, which ignited and burned for several days. Two excavation crew workers died, and four other workers were injured. The photographs in Figures 1 and 2 show the equipment and environmental damage that resulted from the fire. Figure 1 is a ground-level view of the ongoing fire and equipment damage that occurred from the gasoline release. Figure 2 is an aerial view of the excavated Line 1 pipeline and accident-related environmental damage taken during the postaccident investigation.
We determined that the probable cause of the explosion was the excavation crew’s inadequate planning, coordination, and communication during the excavation and failure to adhere to company policy requiring hand excavation if closer than 2 feet from the top or bottom of the pipeline until the pipeline has been exposed, which allowed the track-hoe to damage the pipeline.
