Pipeline incidents in the US: statistics and solutions

25 Aug 2021

The United States has around 3 million miles of hazardous liquid, gas distribution, and gathering and transmission pipelines in operation, and more are being built every day.

According to the report of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in 2020, there were 578 reported pipeline incidents in the United States, resulting in the death of 15 people, injuries to another 43, and about $340 million in damages. Leaks harm the environment severely causing water and soil pollution and devastating damage to flora and fauna. Keeping the data in mind, we should also remember that statistics can never capture the full force of tragedies.

Though modern technologies allow preventing measures in a very comprehensive way!

Pipeline integrity monitoring can be conducted using DFOS (temperature, acoustic, strain sensing). The fiber as a sensitive element can track the entire pipeline length. Thus the leaks, deformation processes, or unauthorized actions can be determined in real time and with higher accuracy.

Wires&Bytes offers a range of cables for pipeline integrity monitoring:

Non-metallic MultiSense

UniSense (can be produced with a single or double stainless steel layer)

Also here’s the video example of how pipeline integrity monitoring system can be implemented

Contact us with the details of your project and we’ll offer the solution for you!