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There is a destructive gas leak
every 2 days in the USA

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Percent of total bare-metal mains

Percent of pre 1970 mains

Percent of lost or unaccounted for gas

Hazardous Leaks per 1,000 miles of main

Bare-metal mains

The percentage of gas mains made of older cast iron and bare steel. The federal government and independent safety advocates warn these materials are more prone to rust, corrosion and other failures. Cast iron is older and can be 50 to 100 or more years old. National average: 7%

Pre 1970 mains

The percentage of gas mains, regardless of material, that the utility said were installed before 1970. The federal government requires utilities to track the age of its gas mains and says older mains need to be more carefully monitored. National average: 39%

Lost or unaccounted for gas

Every year, utilities are asked to report the amount of gas that was "lost or unaccounted for" in their distribution system. The government and utilities concede some of this is because of leaks, but say it can also be issues with measurements, instrumentation and other factors. National average: 2.2%

Hazardous leaks per 1,000 miles of main

Gas utilities must report each year the number of leaks and hazardous leaks, the latter of which are leaks that posed a threat to people or property. This figure is the number of hazardous leaks from gas mains reported in 2013 per 1,000 miles of pipe. National average: 35 hazardous leaks per 1,000 miles.

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About this project

This USA TODAY Network investigative report about the dangers of aging, leak-prone natural gas pipes found that gas explosions killed at least 135 people and injured another 600 people over the last decade, and some local gas utilities operate a high concentration of aging pipes, despite years of warnings from federal safety regulators to replace them.

Credits

Keith Carter, Jeff Dionise, Tory Hargro, John Kelly, Jerry Mosemak, Chad Palmer, Mitchell Thorson, USA TODAY Network

Images: Getty Images

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