One person is dead and five others injured after a gas line explosion in Alabama that is expected to cause gasoline prices on the East Coast to rise in the coming days.
Reuters reported the Colonial Pipeline gasoline line would be shut down for at least a week after an explosion and fire Monday evening. According to the report, a nine-man crew was working on the pipeline when a track hoe collided with the main gasoline pipeline.
The collision caused an explosion and fire that required the pipeline be shut down. Colonial has not officially estimated when the pipeline would restart, but a source with a shipper told Reuters that it would be at least a week until it’s up and running again.
The price of gasoline and diesel futures shot up on the markets Tuesday morning.
In September, the gasoline line was the source of a major spill that caused the pipeline to be shut down for 12 days. According to the Sierra Club, that spill allowed about 250,000 gallons of gasoline to escape the pipeline.
The 5,500-mile pipeline transports about 3.2 million barrels per day to the East Coast. The pipeline also transports diesel and jet fuel in different lines along the pipeline.
Lena Moffitt, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign, said the government needs to investigate what’s going on with the pipeline.
“Given these two recent disasters, we call for the federal government to conduct an immediate investigation into the Colonial Pipeline Co. so that those impacted are fully compensated, and no community is forced to face the risks Shelby County and so many like it around the country do on a daily basis,” she said.
