FBE Coated Pipe Questions Arise in WV & VA for High Pressure Natural Gas

Pipelines put health and environment at risk – and we don’t need them anyway

From an Article by William Limpert, Retired Environmental Regulator, February 27, 2019

We’ve all seen those TV ads where you hear “But wait, there’s more.”

As the State Water Control Board reconsiders the Water Quality Certification for the Mountain Valley Pipeline and hopefully the AtIantic Coast pipeline, I’ve got to add “But wait, there’s more” regarding the pipelines, and government culpability.

>>> The “more” is more public risk.

Both pipelines would disproportionately affect environmental justice communities like Union Hill, take property, drastically reduce property values, threaten public safety, put drinking water at risk, pollute streams, clearcut and fragment forests, scar our landscape, and exacerbate climate change, all for projects that we don’t need.

>>> But wait, there’s more.

Both pipelines are coated with a fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) to reduce pipe corrosion and explosion risk. It degrades when exposed to sunlight, and is chalking off the pipes. Both pipelines chose not to add another coating that would have prevented exposure.

The National Association of Pipe Coating Manufacturers Bulletin 12-78-04 recommends that pipes coated with FBE without additional protection be stored no more than six months in the sun. The ACP admits that all of their pipes will be stored much longer than that, and even longer than the recommendation of pipe manufacturer Dura-Bond. The MVP testified in court that they were concerned about FBE loss.

The pipes for the ACP have been stored outside for about three years, although the actual dates have been hidden from the public. These pipes will remain in storage indefinitely, since the project is on hold. Experts advise me the pipes are losing 1-2 millimeters of FBE coating per year, and are probably still safe at two years’ storage, but further storage makes safety questionable.

>>> But wait, there’s more.

The pipeline industry, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), and the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) have thrown an iron curtain of secrecy around this issue. PHMSA confirms that FBE is coming off the pipes, but states that inspections show that the ACP pipes remain safe. PHMSA won’t divulge how many of the estimated 80,000 ACP pipes have been inspected, or give any detailed inspection information. PHMSA states that no inspection results will be available until the ACP is completed in 2021. Important public safety information regarding pipe inspections, blasting records, hydrostatic tests, welding records, and backfill inspections will remain hidden until then. The SCC will divulge nothing about their involvement.

>>> But wait, there’s more.

There have been three catastrophic gas pipeline explosions in nearby states in the past seven months. Landslides in steep terrain similar to that of the ACP and MVP caused two of them to explode shortly after installation.

>>> But wait, there’s more.

The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the 3M Scotchkote Fusion Bonded Epoxy 6233 used on these pipes lists carcinogenic, mutagenic, and toxic properties. Health impacts include reproductive, developmental, and respiratory impairment. I have consulted with numerous health experts, and none can state that this product is safe. 3M won’t respond to my inquiries. Dura-Bond will give me no useful information.

Since this material is coming off the pipes, it is escaping into our environment. It is very likely that it is being inhaled by persons in proximity to where pipes are on the ground. It is also very likely that it has entered surface and ground waters, and is being ingested through drinking water, especially by persons in karst areas using wells and springs for their drinking water. The ACP and MVP are routed through large areas of karst where public water is not available. Numerous individuals may have already assimilated this material in their bodies.

>>> But wait, there’s even more.

Last summer I requested that the Virginia Department of Health address this health threat. Half a year later, they have not told me that this product is safe, nor committed to further research, sampling, nor recommendations to control release of this material to the environment. They have not committed to actions to protect the public health, despite their mission statement to “protect the health and promote the well being of all people in Virginia.”

This is not a TV ad. This is our lives. These companies are all to eager to take our land, pollute our water, and threaten our health and safety for windfall profits. This government is all too willing to allow them to do that.

>>> William Limpert is a retired environmental regulator with a home in Bath County and a background in water pollution. Contact him at wflimpert@gmail.com.

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