Oh, So Pipelines Do Leak... and Burst into Flame

The same night I get hold of TransCanada's glossy propaganda insert in my local paper (see? they're already polluting... my garbage can!), KELO brings me this headline: MN Crude Oil Pipeline Explosion Kills Two [AP, KELOLand.com, 2007.11.28]. Workers were fixing a leak (what, pipelines leak?) on an Enbridge Energy pipeline near Clearwater, Minnesota, when fumes escaped and ignited, killing two workers.

The StarTribune says the pipeline didn't actually explode, so KELO's headline may overstate the event (and prove they aren't party to any propaganda scheme). Still, that's not the oil boom TransCanada talked about in their little brochure.

The StarTrib also notes that Enbridge Energy, TransCanada's archrival and next-door neighbor in Calgary, has reported one other leak on its Minnesota pipeline, a 6000-barrel spill near Cohasset on July 4, 2002 [Joy Powell, "Clearbrook Pipeline Fire Kills 2," Minneapolis StarTribune, 2007.11.28].

Two leaks in six years? That sounds a little worse than TransCanada's predicted one leak in 41 years.

So, pipelines can kill workers. Of course, workers can fall off wind turbines, too. But TransCanada still hasn't sold me... and let's hope they don't sell the PUC, either.