3 More Safety Recommendations Closed from NTSB’s 2019 – 2020 Most Wanted List
9/4/2019
Page Content
WASHINGTON (Sept.
4, 2019) — Pipeline safety was recently improved with the implementation of
three National
Transportation Safety Board safety recommendations that called for
improved inspection programs, better records and documentation of natural gas
systems, and procedures to mitigate risks identified during management of change
operations.
“NTSB safety
recommendations, if implemented, can help prevent accidents from happening,
which saves lives,” said NTSB Chairman Robert
Sumwalt.
“These pipeline safety recommendations were issued in the wake of the Millersville,
Pennsylvania
and Merrimack Valley,
Massachusetts
natural gas accidents that damaged or destroyed homes, injured dozens and
tragically killed two people. The implementation of these recommendations is a
significant step in improving natural gas pipeline safety for these communities
and across the nation,” said Sumwalt.
Railroad safety
was also recently advanced when the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North
Rail Road implemented NTSB safety recommendations R-17-009 and R-17-010, which were
issued following the NTSBs investigation of the Feb. 3,
2015, grade crossing
accident in Valhalla, New York, in which six people died and 10 were
injured. The recommendations sought the risk assessment and subsequent risk
mitigation for grade crossings with third-rail systems at or near the
crossings. Because safety recommendation R-17-10 was issued to
multiple recipients, the recommendation remains listed as open in the NTSB’s
safety recommendation database. Neither recommendation appeared in the 2019 –
2020 Most Wanted List.
To report an incident/accident or if you are a public safety agency, please call 1-844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290 to speak to a Watch Officer at the NTSB Response Operations Center (ROC) in Washington, DC (24/7).