science

List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949)

List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) rather than just read about it. In short: The following is only a sample of natural gas and petroleum product accidents for this era. Gas and oil leaks and explosions were not tracked in an organized fashion except by fire marshals.

Key takeaways

List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The following is only a sample of natural gas and petroleum product accidents for this era. Gas and oil leaks and explosions were not tracked in an organized fashion except by fire marshals. Many leaks, fires, and explosions were not recorded unless they occurred in population centers with newspapers to report them. Later in the twentieth century, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a U.S. Department of Transportation agency, would be established to develop and enforce regulations for the safe and environmentally sound operation of the United States' pipelines, and to collect data on pipeline leaks, accidents, and explosions.

1900s

1900 December 20 – In Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, two children were fatally burned and five injured in a gas explosion and fires that destroyed three houses. The explosions were caused by the breaking of a valve gate on the Fort Pitt Gas Line, which allowed leaking gas to seep into the houses' cellars, following water pipes from the street.

1901 May – Three teachers and a plumber were injured by a gas explosion at Saint Michael's Roman Catholic Church parish school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. October – In Boston, Massachusetts, five women narrowly escaped being burned alive after a leaking gas meter exploded in the basement of their three-story tenement, starting a fire that ascended through the stairwells and drove them out the upper windows where they clung to the ledges until firefighters rescued them with extension ladders.

1902 February 21 – In Rochester, New York, an explosion destroyed a building at the works of the Rochester Gas and Electric Company. The loss was estimated at $20,000.

1903 May – An oil well driller in eastern Ohio struck gas which ignited and exploded after escaping from the well. The derrick burned, and three men and an eight-year-old boy were seriously injured by the explosion.

1904 January – In Marion, Indiana, three were killed, four fatally injured and eight dangerously injured when a hotel burned after a gas leak exploded, probably due to increased pressure in the mains. The loss was estimated at $50,000. December 1 – In Winchester, Massachusetts, a lighted match dropped into a sewer manhole by an employee of the Arlington gaslight company set off an explosion which injured five gas line repairmen and blew the steel manhole cover 30 feet into the air. The gas ignited along the sewer line into Rangeley, where two more manhole covers were blown into the air. The gas company's official statement was that the gas was ignited by a spark from a pickaxe.

1905 February – In Hastings, Pennsylvania, two employees of the Hope Gas Company were killed while repairing a leak in a 12-inch diameter natural gas pipeline, which exploded so violently that their clothes were blown off their bodies.

1906 November 22 – In Cherryville, Kansas, five Australians working on the Kansas Natural Gas Company's pipeline to Joplin were badly burned by an explosion "through misunderstanding or neglect."

1907 August – A gas explosion shook Boston's South End after new machinery ignited a gas leak in the one-story brick engine house of the Boston Consolidated Gas Company, where natural gas was pumped to three huge reservoirs holding 2,000,000 cubic feet of gas. The engineer, knowing the fire could spread to the reservoirs, ignored his burning clothes and rushed to close the valves between the engine house and the reservoirs, saving the South End from a disaster. Seven workmen including the engineer were seriously injured.

1908 March 28 – In South Deerfield, Massachusetts, a tank used for supplying gas to houses and stores exploded, killing two men and injuring two others. Hundreds of windows shattered from the force of the blast, and a small building near the tank was demolished. Leaking gas was thought to have been ignited by the flame from a lantern. July 31 – In Haysville, Pennsylvania, a gas explosion demolished a varnish factory building and broke 500 windows in the town, doing $6000 of damage.

1909 December 14 – In Topeka, Kansas, six men were seriously injured when gas trapped in a fire cistern exploded. Two were cleaning out the cistern when another man struck a match to light a cigar and the explosion followed.

1910s

1910 September 9 – In Oklahoma, a cigar-smoking cashier inadvertently blew up his own bank when he walked into his workplace, which had a gas leak. The cashier was bruised and scorched but not seriously injured.

1911 January 15 – Four persons were killed and four injured in a natural gas explosion at Niobrara, Nebraska. The explosion was caused by a leak from a gas plant in a hotel's cellar. The resulting fire burned the three-story frame hotel to the ground. June 26 – In Estes Park, Colorado, an explosion of gas in the Stanley Hotel endangered the lives of 20 guests and fatally injured one. The Stanley, a new $500,000 four-story hotel lighted by electricity, had a gas plant for emergency use. Guests noticed the odor of gas the previous day and at night the leak was found on the second floor by employees with lighted candles who set off the explosion. September 18 – In Schenectady, New York, the explosion of a gas generating tank in the basement of the Exchange building resulted in the death of the owner of a confectionery store. The building was considerably damaged by the fire which followed the explosion. Firemen found the confectioner's body in the basement.

1912 May 13 – In Parkersburg, West Virginia, a gas explosion shook a woolen mill and injured three men, probably including the one searching for the gas leak with a lighted match. After the explosion, 200 mill girls employed on the fourth floor made their way down the fire escape in an orderly fashion. A fire followed but was quickly extinguished. October 2 – In Boston, Massachusetts, gas escaping from a subbasement gas main in a Beacon Street apartment hotel affected 34 residents while they were sleeping; two nearly suffocated.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949)

In research: List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Lists of pipeline accidents in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949)” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) in simple terms?

The following is only a sample of natural gas and petroleum product accidents for this era. Gas and oil leaks and explosions were not tracked in an organized fashion except by fire marshals.

Why does List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of pipeline accidents in the United States (1900–1949).