"Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s old gas lines are riddled with potentially lethal weld flaws, and new welding that the company's crews did during pipeline testing last year is suspect, two veteran welders told state regulators this week."
"The two told the California Public Utilities Commission that they had serious concerns with what they saw while working on PG&E's high-pressure water testing of 150 miles of transmission pipeline last year. The company undertook the tests in reaction to the explosion of a pipe in San Bruno in September 2010 that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.
PG&E expects to perform such hydrotests on 180 more miles of pipe this year. The tests are designed to expose any flawed welds like the one that ruptured in San Bruno and helped cause the disaster."
Jaxon Van Derbeken reports for the San Francisco Chronicle February 8, 2012.
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