The head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) last week criticized Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and said she was “very disappointed” that the company had been slow to reveal there had been a leak in 1988 on a section of its gas transmission Line 132, which exploded in San Bruno, CA, last September.

Deborah Hersman told reporters that the investigation of the incident remained in “high-priority mode” but said PG&E appeared to be slow in revealing the previous leak. The information only came to light in the past few weeks, she told the Los Angeles Times. “It is frustrating to our investigative team so late in the game.”

A PG&E spokesperson said the leak in 1988 was nine or 10 miles south of the site in San Bruno. The 1988 leak information cited a “longitudinal weld defect,” which is one of the suspected causes being investigated by the NTSB. PG&E contends that as soon as the information on the leak was uncovered it reported the finding on May 20 to NTSB.

Hersman used the visit to outline three more recommendations that NTSB is making in the wake of pipeline explosion:

Hersman toured the San Bruno site with California Rep. Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo County), who last month criticized the San Francisco-based combination utility for allegedly scrimping in the past on replacing pipe that it is now spending millions of dollars to hydrostatically test (see NGI, May 23).

©Copyright 2011Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.