# NTSB and Gas Leaks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 17, 2018, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478 "2018-09-17T11:51:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478/1 "2018-09-17T11:51:42Z")
Why in the world would the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigate the wide spread gas leaks north of Boston last week? (This is per CBS News.) ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478/2 "2018-09-17T11:55:38Z")
Per their [mandate](https://www.ntsb.gov/about/Pages/default.aspx) > [@](#): > > The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in other modes of transportation – railroad, highway, marine and pipeline. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478/3 "2018-09-17T21:45:12Z")
The NTSB is most famous for their aircraft and train crash investigations, but they’re responsible for investigations of ALL methods of transit-- including pipelines. [https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/pipeline.aspx](https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/pipeline.aspx) I know this because back when that pipeline in Bellevue, WA exploded and killed a few people playing in a park, [the NTSB did an investigation](https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/PAR0202.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478/4 "2018-09-17T23:09:35Z")
Pipelines were [originally built to compete with railroads](https://www.caseyresearch.com/how-rockefeller-parlayed-pipelines-billions/) and break there monopoly on transporting oil. That is, pipelines transport things that cold be transported by another method. The key word here is transport. ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478/5 "2018-09-18T20:39:04Z")
Here’s the [link](https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AccidentReports.aspx) to the whole collection. Fascinating stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478/6 "2018-09-18T22:06:09Z")
It’s been a while since I’ve had to deal with it, but the actual office that set standards for pipelines is the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). I believe that it was the Office of Pipeline Safety several years ago, and for a while it was under the TSA. That particular arrangement made me wonder about them. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478/7 "2018-09-19T02:06:56Z")
NTSB investigates accidents and makes recommendations, but they don’t actually regulate anything. Safety regulations are left to the FAA (airplanes), FRA (trains), PHMSA (pipes) and so on. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ntsb-and-gas-leaks/821478/8 "2018-09-19T02:33:34Z")
Code of Federal Regulations CFR 49 is the governing regulation for hazardous materials transport - including pipelines. Here is an old edition (2012) in massive PDF - [https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title49-vol2/pdf/CFR-2012-title49-vol2.pdf](https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title49-vol2/pdf/CFR-2012-title49-vol2.pdf) Specifically Subchapter D, parts 190-199