Safety concerns grow over oil pipelines in Gansu

The government has ordered a nationwide safety inspection on oil and gas pipelines after an explosion on November 22 killed 62 people in the city of Qingdao. Recently, one inspection team went to northwest Gansu province, a major pipeline concentration area to see where safety standards stood. But the findings were disturbing.

A booming petro chemical industry might have a hidden safety hazard.

An inspection this time will focus on the feasibility of the province's pipeline infrastructure.

"We found many potential hazards along the 800 km of pipelines. There was illegal property development at 58 sections of the line. This will pose severe threats to public safety." Sun Guangyu with safety inspection team said.

In the provincial capital Lanzhou, a major oil pipeline lies right underneath a newly built road. Just to the side of the road is a new sewage plant, which also sits on top of the pipeline.

"According to the rule, there should be at least a five meter distance between the line and roads, and be 15 meters away from residential neighborhoods." Liu Guangsheng with safety inspection team said.

Not far from the sewage plant is a ditch. Similar to the disaster in Qingdao, the pipeline runs in parallel, and even overlaps the ditch.

"Because of the overlap, if there is a leak in the pipeline, the oil may flow from the ditch to the Yellow River. It could cause tremendous damage to the environment." Yang Chengdong, technician of Lanzhou Oil Pipeline Station, said.

Moreover, there is less than a 15 meter distance between the ditch and a nearby residential neighborhood, with many vehicles passing by. If the pipeline were ever to explode, the consequences would be disastrous. The team also found out that the local government and businesses have yet to develop an effective contingency plan to evacuate people, in case of such an emergency. The inspection will continue till the end of March next year, covering review planning, site selection, management and routine maintenance.