2010-09-14 09:15

The remains of burned vehicles and homes are seen near the site of a natural gas explosion in San Bruno, California September 11, 2010. [Agencies]

SAN BRUNO, California -- An ominous theme has emerged from the wreckage of a deadly pipeline explosion in California: There are thousands of pipes just like it around the US.

Utilities have been under pressure for years to better inspect and replace aging gas pipes, many of them laid years before the suburbs expanded over them and now are at risk of leaking or erupting.

But the effort has fallen short. Critics say the regulatory system is ripe for problems because the government largely leaves it up to the companies to do inspections, and utilities are reluctant to spend the money necessary to properly fix and replace decrepit pipelines.

"If this was the FAA and air travel we were talking about, I wouldn't get on a plane," said Rick Kessler, a former congressional staffer specializing in pipeline safety issues who now works for the Pipeline Safety Trust, an advocacy group based in Bellingham, Wash.

Investigators are still trying to figure out how the pipeline in San Bruno ruptured and ignited a gigantic fireball that torched one home after another in the neighborhood, killing at least four people. Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the pipeline's owner, said Monday it has set aside up to $100 million to help residents recover.

An aerial view shows damage caused by a massive fire that resulted from a gas pipe explosion in San Bruno, California in this September 9, 2010 frame grab. [Agencies]

Experts say the California disaster epitomizes the risks that communities face with old gas lines. The pipe was more than 50 years old, right around the life expectancy for steel pipes. It was part of a transmission line that in one section had an "unacceptably high" risk of failure. And it was in a densely populated area.

The blast was the latest warning sign in a series of deadly infrastructure failures in recent years, including a bridge collapse in Minneapolis and a steam pipe explosion that tore open a Manhattan street in 2007. The steam pipe that ruptured was more than 80 years old.

In this August 2, 2007 file photo, divers search the Mississippi River for victims of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis.[Agencies]

This July 18, 2007 file photo shows a steam explosion near Grand Central Station in Manhattan. [Agencies]