Are You SAFE?
That all depends on how close you live to the proposed pipeline route and the direction of the wind.
First of all, the Nexus proposed pipeline is NOT a little 6″ line that brings gas to your house. This is a massive 36″ diameter gas transmission line with pressures up to 1,500 PSI. As a comparison, those little 6″ lines carry around 100 PSI to your house and then it is stepped down to around 2 PSI for your appliances.
Still don’t believe it. Take a look at this pipe on the back of a semi trailer. This is what the Nexus pipeline will look like.
Will it leak? All pipelines leak. Just search the web and you’ll find daily occurrences of this. Pipelines are built by humans with human error. Nexus wants to install 250 miles of pipe welded together in 6 months or the least amount of time possible by hiring numerous crews to all work at the same time. Given there are few regulations and fewer inspectors, as fast as the pipe is welded it’s then buried out of site but only a mere 3′ deep.
Back to the original question, are you safe? Live in Chippewa Lake or one of the local developments? Never heard of this pipeline? Don’t think it’s this big with that amount of pressure? Think you’ll get gas from it? All of this is exactly what the pipeline company wants you to believe or not know. Keeping you in the dark and misleading everyone about the reality of its existence is a daily routine.
So, are you safe? The map below is of the greater Chippewa Lake area in Medina County. The proposed Nexus pipeline route is the red line zig zagging across the area. Pay special attention to the shaded area in red in the first image below. This is what is called the BLAST ZONE, BURN ZONE or INCINERATION ZONE. This is the area that will be burnt to a crisp within seconds if there is leak and resulting explosion (leaks result in explosions because of the heat from the high pressure ignites the escaping gas). This is the primary fire zone caused by the gas explosion itself. There will then be secondary fires spreading house to house and through the regions wooded area outside of this primary Burn Zone. Think Lafayette or Montville Townships or Medina County is equipped to handle this? This exact thing happened in San Bruno California in 2010 (Click Here for Info). The resulting fires were only brought under control by using the water tanker airplanes that fight forest fires. One more thing, this is raw gas straight out of the ground. It has no smell but does contain numerous cancer causing gases. Best of all, the pipeline regularly vents this directly into the air to regulate pressure. Still feel safe?
The blast radius/zone is the distance that the fire from the explosion consumes, measured in feet from the epicenter to the outer edge of the burned area. Many factors can increase the estimated blast radius such as residential homes, forests, other gas lines, utilities, businesses and industrial facilities.
The map below shows the proposed pipeline route through the Chippewa Lake area and the possible scenarios in the event of a pipeline explosion pending the pressure at which the pipeline is operating.
- The pipeline route is represented by the dark red line in the middle of the shaded area.
- The light red shaded area represents a blast radius/zone while operating at 1,440 PSI.
The very outer light yellow shaded area in the image below represents a 2 mile radius evacuation zone. This is unofficial and could be larger.
