From: The Dallas Morning News
Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times
The oil spill from an underground pipe off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., fouled the waters this week.
The oil pipeline leak that fouled a stretch of California coastline
this week reflects a troubling trend in the nation’s infrastructure: As
U.S. oil production has soared, so has the number of pipeline accidents.
Since
2009, the annual number of significant accidents on oil and petroleum
pipelines has shot up by almost 60 percent, roughly matching the rise in
U.S. crude oil production, according to an analysis of federal data by
The Associated Press.
Nearly two-thirds of the leaks during that
time have been linked to corrosion or material, welding and equipment
failures — problems often associated with older pipelines, though they
can occur in newer ones, too. Other leaks were blamed on natural
disasters or human error, such as a backhoe striking a pipeline. MORE
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