Natural Gas Pipeline Updates Can Cut Greenhouse Gas Leaks by 90 Percent, Study Says

Pipeline replacement programs in cities can cut natural gas leaks by 90 percent, curbing the release of the powerful greenhouse gas methane and boosting public safety, according to a study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.  Researchers drove cars equipped with sensitive methane-mapping instruments through thousands of miles of city streets in Manhattan, Boston, Cincinnati, Durham, and Washington, D.C.  They discovered that Durham and Cincinnati, where public-private partnerships have replaced outdated pipelines, have 90 percent fewer gas leaks per mile than Manhattan, Boston, and Washington, D.C., where hundreds of miles of corroded natural gas pipes date back to the 1800s.  Durham, North Carolina, finished replacing all of its cast-iron and unprotected-steel pipes in 2008.  A similar program in Cincinnati began 15 years ago and is nearly complete. Researchers estimate that, in the U.S. alone, $2 billion worth of natural gas was lost to leaks last year.

Read original at Natural Gas Pipeline Updates Can Cut Greenhouse Gas Leaks by 90 Percent, Study Says