Pipeline Safety Stakeholder Communications

This Significant Incident data set is designed for historical trending and includes adjustments to account for commodity cost fluctuations and general inflation.

PHMSA defines Significant Incidents as those incidents reported by pipeline operators when any of the following specifically defined consequences occur:

1. fatality or injury requiring in-patient hospitalization
2. $50,000 or more in total costs, measured in 1984 dollars
3. highly volatile liquid releases of 5 barrels or more or other liquid releases of 50 barrels or more
4. liquid releases resulting in an unintentional fire or explosion

PHMSA established a cost reporting threshold of $50,000 for gas pipeline incidents in 1984. Since then, inflation and the rapid rise in the cost of natural gas have caused the cost of incidents to rise significantly along with an increase in the number of incidents reported. To account for the cost increases, PHMSA now considers incidents significant from a cost perspective if they exceed a total cost of $50,000 in 1984 dollars.

We have converted the cost of gas lost during a pipeline incident using the Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas City Gate Prices.(A) (1) For all other costs, we applied the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Government Printing Office inflation values.(A) (2) The costs shown in the tables are in adjusted dollars.

The tables below show the number of Significant Incidents in a year for each type of pipeline operator. Each year and selected column totals provide links to focused reports showing the causes of the corresponding incidents.

The data source for this table is the PHMSA Filtered Incident File. (3)

Where appropriate, the table columns can be sorted by clicking the corresponding column header.

There is also a designation for Serious Incident which counts only incidents involving a fatality or injury. See Serious Pipeline Incidents for information on this smaller subset of incidents.

More Pipeline Incidents and Mileage Reports are available.

• All Pipeline Systems
• Hazardous Liquid
• Gas Transmission
• Gas Gathering
• Gas Distribution

National All Pipeline Systems: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1993-2012

Year	Number (B)	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)	Gross Barrels Spilled (Haz Liq)	Net Barrels Lost (Haz Liq) (D)
1993	293	17	111	$93,463,408	116,132	57,218
1994	326	22	(E) 120	$225,799,918	163,920	113,785
1995	259	21	64	$71,688,405	109,931	52,963
1996	301	53	127	$154,457,343	160,188	100,854
1997	267	10	77	$104,584,802	195,421	103,114
1998	295	21	81	$165,389,383	149,348	60,725
1999	275	22	108	$168,913,935	167,082	104,445
2000	290	38	81	$244,190,494	108,614	56,945
2001	233	7	61	$75,009,574	98,046	77,329
2002	258	12	49	$121,144,992	95,663	77,268
2003	298	12	71	$159,685,016	80,032	50,413
2004	311	23	56	$309,397,534	88,211	68,566
2005	338	13	47	(F) $1,452,356,291	137,052	45,818
2006	257	19	34	$152,062,014	136,499	53,428
2007	268	15	47	$147,520,898	94,082	68,655
2008	280	8	55	$565,389,018	101,056	69,084
2009	275	13	62	$172,629,565	53,879	31,857
2010	260	19	104	$1,485,400,258	173,567	123,136
2011	284	12	55	$361,604,233	135,587	105,289
2012	244	10	55	$183,326,385	53,093	32,491
Totals	5,612	367	1,465	$6,414,013,476	2,417,408	1,453,388
2013 YTD	81	4	17	$55,468,941	42,147	31,489
3 Year Average (2010-2012)	263	14	71	$676,776,959	120,750	86,973
5 Year Average (2008-2012)	269	12	66	$553,669,892	103,437	72,372
10 Year Average (2003-2012)	282	14	59	$498,937,122	105,306	64,874
20 Year Average (1993-2012)	281	18	73	$320,700,674	120,870	72,669

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• Onshore Only
• Offshore Only

National Hazardous Liquid: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1993-2012

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)	Gross Barrels Spilled (Haz Liq)	Net Barrels Lost (Haz Liq) (D)
1993	154	0	10	$40,626,133	116,132	57,218
1994	178	1	(E) 7	$87,566,517	163,920	113,785
1995	156	3	11	$44,448,643	109,931	52,963
1996	174	5	13	$116,717,602	160,188	100,854
1997	162	0	5	$74,326,620	195,421	103,114
1998	140	2	6	$84,068,807	149,348	60,725
1999	147	4	20	$113,096,748	167,082	104,445
2000	135	1	4	$194,263,049	108,614	56,945
2001	108	0	10	$31,038,200	98,046	77,329
2002	133	1	0	$60,150,310	95,663	77,268
2003	123	0	5	$78,416,921	80,032	50,413
2004	135	5	16	$196,923,675	88,211	68,566
2005	129	2	2	$361,555,889	137,052	45,818
2006	107	0	2	$81,151,218	136,499	53,428
2007	109	4	10	$63,676,779	94,082	68,655
2008	122	2	2	$153,251,159	101,056	69,084
2009	109	4	4	$73,362,546	53,879	31,857
2010	121	1	4	$1,048,782,497	173,567	123,136
2011	139	1	2	$248,125,493	135,587	105,289
2012	129	3	4	$111,299,917	53,093	32,491
Totals	2,710	39	137	$3,262,848,731	2,417,408	1,453,388
2013 YTD	38	0	1	$40,930,014	42,147	31,489
3 Year Average (2010-2012)	130	2	3	$469,402,636	120,750	86,973
5 Year Average (2008-2012)	124	2	3	$326,964,323	103,437	72,372
10 Year Average (2003-2012)	122	2	5	$241,654,610	105,306	64,874
20 Year Average (1993-2012)	136	2	7	$163,142,437	120,870	72,669

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National Hazardous Liquid Onshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1993-2012

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)	Gross Barrels Spilled (Haz Liq)	Net Barrels Lost (Haz Liq) (D)
1993	152	0	10	$39,039,865	115,764	57,165
1994	176	1	(E) 7	$87,165,032	159,670	109,535
1995	154	3	11	$43,465,620	109,928	52,960
1996	171	5	13	$115,656,649	153,622	94,288
1997	153	0	5	$56,987,172	188,935	99,256
1998	131	2	6	$69,740,406	138,078	51,190
1999	142	4	20	$110,616,570	163,689	101,106
2000	128	1	4	$170,222,957	106,318	54,655
2001	107	0	10	$30,510,736	98,045	77,328
2002	130	1	0	$57,913,056	95,663	77,268
2003	123	0	5	$78,416,921	80,032	50,413
2004	125	5	16	$101,029,442	76,295	58,111
2005	121	2	2	$326,449,870	136,008	44,774
2006	104	0	2	$63,656,093	135,930	52,859
2007	107	4	10	$62,818,788	94,071	68,655
2008	119	2	2	$141,190,036	101,056	69,083
2009	106	4	4	$61,956,534	52,379	30,633
2010	117	1	4	$1,045,524,339	173,561	123,130
2011	136	1	2	$242,796,824	135,508	105,289
2012	126	3	4	$110,429,910	53,093	32,491
Totals	2,628	39	137	$3,015,586,829	2,367,649	1,410,194
2013 YTD	38	0	1	$40,930,014	42,147	31,489
3 Year Average (2010-2012)	126	2	3	$466,250,358	120,721	86,970
5 Year Average (2008-2012)	121	2	3	$320,379,529	103,120	72,126
10 Year Average (2003-2012)	118	2	5	$223,426,876	103,794	63,544
20 Year Average (1993-2012)	131	2	7	$150,779,341	118,382	70,510

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National Hazardous Liquid Offshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1993-2012

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)	Gross Barrels Spilled (Haz Liq)	Net Barrels Lost (Haz Liq) (D)
1993	2	0	0	$1,586,267	368	53
1994	2	0	(E) 0	$401,484	4,250	4,250
1995	2	0	0	$983,022	3	3
1996	3	0	0	$1,060,952	6,566	6,566
1997	9	0	0	$17,339,447	6,486	3,858
1998	9	0	0	$14,328,401	11,270	9,535
1999	5	0	0	$2,480,178	3,393	3,339
2000	7	0	0	$24,040,092	2,296	2,290
2001	1	0	0	$527,463	1	1
2002	3	0	0	$2,237,253	0	0
2003	0	0	0	$0	0	0
2004	10	0	0	$95,894,233	11,916	10,455
2005	8	0	0	$35,106,019	1,043	1,043
2006	3	0	0	$17,495,125	569	569
2007	2	0	0	$857,990	11	0
2008	3	0	0	$12,061,123	0	0
2009	3	0	0	$11,406,011	1,500	1,224
2010	4	0	0	$3,258,157	6	6
2011	3	0	0	$5,328,669	79	0
2012	3	0	0	$870,007	0	0
Totals	82	0	0	$247,261,902	49,759	43,194
2013 YTD	0	0	0	$0	0	0
3 Year Average (2010-2012)	3	0	0	$3,152,278	28	2
5 Year Average (2008-2012)	3	0	0	$6,584,794	317	246
10 Year Average (2003-2012)	4	0	0	$18,227,734	1,513	1,330
20 Year Average (1993-2012)	4	0	0	$12,363,095	2,488	2,160

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• Onshore Only
• Offshore Only

National Gas Transmission: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1993-2012

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)
1993	50	1	16	$31,708,275
1994	45	0	22	$61,676,197
1995	32	2	7	$13,061,909
1996	43	1	5	$16,558,108
1997	33	1	5	$14,249,595
1998	51	1	11	$53,986,797
1999	38	2	8	$22,438,925
2000	54	15	16	$20,792,502
2001	50	2	5	$16,147,502
2002	56	1	4	$31,597,653
2003	70	1	8	$55,070,689
2004	62	0	2	$37,947,740
2005	111	0	5	$338,707,848
2006	78	3	3	$39,716,368
2007	75	2	7	$58,386,846
2008	73	0	5	$262,717,284
2009	73	0	11	$55,771,850
2010	79	10	61	$415,451,987
2011	80	0	1	$95,813,551
2012	61	0	7	$50,345,310
Totals	1,214	42	209	$1,692,146,945
2013 YTD	18	0	0	$6,917,120
3 Year Average (2010-2012)	73	3	23	$187,203,616
5 Year Average (2008-2012)	73	2	17	$176,019,997
10 Year Average (2003-2012)	76	2	11	$140,992,948
20 Year Average (1993-2012)	61	2	10	$84,607,347

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National Gas Transmission Onshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1993-2012

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)
1993	43	1	16	$24,023,005
1994	34	0	15	$58,794,113
1995	22	0	7	$9,128,415
1996	34	1	5	$13,896,925
1997	26	1	5	$12,218,264
1998	40	1	11	$44,321,198
1999	34	2	8	$21,382,406
2000	45	15	16	$18,652,836
2001	45	2	5	$14,325,601
2002	40	1	4	$19,466,198
2003	62	1	8	$51,328,261
2004	43	0	2	$9,238,458
2005	64	0	5	$218,625,349
2006	59	3	3	$29,124,687
2007	55	2	7	$38,340,429
2008	47	0	5	$113,571,540
2009	60	0	11	$43,532,346
2010	57	10	61	$404,043,319
2011	68	0	1	$89,357,920
2012	47	0	7	$44,212,850
Totals	925	40	202	$1,277,584,128
2013 YTD	15	0	0	$5,275,333
3 Year Average (2010-2012)	57	3	23	$179,204,697
5 Year Average (2008-2012)	56	2	17	$138,943,595
10 Year Average (2003-2012)	56	2	11	$104,137,516
20 Year Average (1993-2012)	46	2	10	$63,879,206

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National Gas Transmission Offshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1993-2012

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)
1993	7	0	0	$7,685,269
1994	11	0	7	$2,882,083
1995	10	2	0	$3,933,493
1996	9	0	0	$2,661,183
1997	7	0	0	$2,031,331
1998	11	0	0	$9,665,599
1999	4	0	0	$1,056,519
2000	9	0	0	$2,139,666
2001	5	0	0	$1,821,900
2002	16	0	0	$12,131,454
2003	8	0	0	$3,742,427
2004	19	0	0	$28,709,281
2005	47	0	0	$120,082,499
2006	19	0	0	$10,591,681
2007	20	0	0	$20,046,417
2008	26	0	0	$149,145,744
2009	13	0	0	$12,239,503
2010	22	0	0	$11,408,667
2011	12	0	0	$6,455,631
2012	14	0	0	$6,132,460
Totals	289	2	7	$414,562,817
2013 YTD	3	0	0	$1,641,787
3 Year Average (2010-2012)	16	0	0	$7,998,920
5 Year Average (2008-2012)	17	0	0	$37,076,401
10 Year Average (2003-2012)	20	0	0	$36,855,431
20 Year Average (1993-2012)	14	0	0	$20,728,141

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National Gas Gathering: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1993-2012

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)
1993	1	0	1	$0
1994	5	0	0	$1,703,421
1995	3	0	3	$168,518
1996	0	0	0	$0
1997	3	0	0	$568,772
1998	7	0	0	$3,612,558
1999	2	0	0	$428,269
2000	3	0	2	$1,102,914
2001	6	0	0	$12,368,124
2002	4	0	1	$1,467,296
2003	3	0	0	$2,088,237
2004	12	0	1	$38,644,931
2005	18	0	2	$169,459,132
2006	12	0	1	$12,169,169
2007	10	0	0	$5,896,374
2008	17	0	0	$129,733,265
2009	13	0	0	$18,421,101
2010	6	0	0	$3,281,848
2011	5	0	0	$1,241,124
2012	5	0	0	$920,920
Totals	135	0	11	$403,275,979
2013 YTD	0	0	0	$0
3 Year Average (2010-2012)	5	0	0	$1,814,631
5 Year Average (2008-2012)	9	0	0	$30,719,652
10 Year Average (2003-2012)	10	0	0	$38,185,610
20 Year Average (1993-2012)	7	0	1	$20,163,799

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National Gas Distribution: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1993-2012

Year	Number (B)	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)
1993	88	16	84	$21,128,999
1994	98	21	91	$74,853,782
1995	68	16	43	$14,009,335
1996	84	47	109	$21,181,632
1997	69	9	67	$15,439,813
1998	97	18	64	$23,721,219
1999	88	16	80	$32,949,991
2000	98	22	59	$28,032,028
2001	69	5	46	$15,455,748
2002	65	10	44	$27,929,731
2003	102	11	58	$24,109,169
2004	102	18	37	$35,881,186
2005	80	11	38	(F) $582,633,420
2006	60	16	28	$19,025,257
2007	74	9	30	$19,560,898
2008	68	6	48	$19,687,308
2009	80	9	47	$25,074,067
2010	54	8	39	$17,883,925
2011	60	11	52	$16,424,063
2012	49	7	44	$20,760,238
Totals	1,553	286	1,108	$1,055,741,819
2013 YTD	25	4	16	$7,621,807
3 Year Average (2010-2012)	54	9	45	$18,356,076
5 Year Average (2008-2012)	62	8	46	$19,965,921
10 Year Average (2003-2012)	73	11	42	$78,103,954
20 Year Average (1993-2012)	78	14	55	$52,787,091

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Notes

1. The costs for incidents prior to 2012 are presented in 2012 dollars. Cost of Gas lost is indexed via the Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas City Gate Prices. All other costs are adjusted via the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Government Printing Office inflation values.
2. Gas Distribution incidents where fire/explosion was the primary cause of failure, such as a house fire that subsequently resulted in - but was not caused by - a distribution line failure are excluded from 2004 onward. This exclusion has not been applied in years prior to 2004 due to difficulty in identifying these types of events with the older report formats.
3. For years 2002 and later, property damage is estimated as the sum of all public and private costs reported in the 30-day incident report. For years prior to 2002, accident report forms did not include a breakdown of public and private costs so property damage for these years is the reported total property damage field in the report.
4. Net Barrels Lost applies only to Liquid incidents and is the difference between Gross Barrels Spilled and Barrels Recovered.
5. Does not include 1,851 injuries that required medical treatment reported for the October, 1994 accidents that were caused by severe flooding near Houston, Texas.
6. Approximately 94% of the Property Damage for Gas Distribution Incidents in 2005 was caused by flooding in New Orleans. The $466.5 million associated with this incident represents lost gas and operator property damage, but does not include damage to public and private property caused by the flooding.

Sources

1. Natural Gas Wellhead, City Gate, and Imports Prices. Release date: 04/3029/2013, verified on 03/29/2013.
2. Gross Domestic Product (Chained) Price Index. Table 10.1--GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT AND DEFLATORS USED IN THE HISTORICAL TABLES: 1940-2014. Index verified on 04/30/2013.
3. PHMSA Flagged Incidents File - April 30, 2013. Note: Incidents occurring up to 30 days prior the Incident File source date may not appear in these reports due to the 30-day reporting period allowed by PHMSA regulation.

See Pipeline Incidents and Mileage Reports for more pipeline safety reports.