Investigative Detail Image
Pipeline Rupture and Release of Gasoline, Olympic Pipeline Company
What Happened
What Happened
About 3:28 p.m., Pacific daylight time, on June 10, 1999, a 16-inch-diameter steel pipeline owned by Olympic Pipe Line Company ruptured and released about 237,000 gallons of gasoline into a creek that flowed through Whatcom Falls Park in Bellingham, Washington. About 1 1/2 hours after the rupture, the gasoline ignited and burned approximately 1 1/2 miles along the creek. Two 10-year-old boys and an 18-year-old young man died as a result of the accident. Eight additional injuries were documented. A single-family residence and the city of Bellingham�s water treatment plant were severely damaged. As of January 2002, Olympic estimated that total property damages were at least $45 million.
What We Found
What We Recommended
Lessons Learned
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