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PHMSA uses specific criterion to identify which incidents are significant from a pipeline safety viewpoint.

PHMSA defines Significant Incidents as those incidents reported by pipeline operators when any of the following conditions are met:

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 Files.(3) (4) (5)

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: 1989-2008

Year	Number (B)	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)	Gross Barrels Lost	Net Barrels Lost (D)
1989	277	45	157	$55,721,771	201,504	122,745
1990	253	9	76	$48,712,628	123,827	54,443
1991	279	14	98	$79,621,375	200,210	55,575
1992	284	15	118	$95,811,975	136,769	68,647
1993	293	17	111	$87,940,078	116,132	57,218
1994	326	22	(E) 120	$212,456,006	163,920	113,785
1995	259	21	64	$67,451,895	109,931	52,963
1996	301	53	127	$145,329,505	160,188	100,854
1997	267	10	77	$98,404,240	195,421	103,114
1998	295	21	81	$155,615,503	149,348	60,725
1999	275	22	108	$158,931,767	167,082	104,445
2000	290	38	81	$229,759,769	108,614	56,945
2001	233	7	61	$70,576,795	98,046	77,329
2002	258	12	49	$118,681,769	95,663	77,268
2003	297	12	71	$143,020,296	80,008	50,391
2004	311	23	56	$283,476,391	88,145	68,508
2005	338	13	47	(F) $1,371,301,187	137,052	45,818
2006	257	19	35	$136,022,360	136,499	53,916
2007	268	15	50	$140,021,368	89,909	68,653
2008	265	8	63	$438,393,266	98,091	68,533
Totals	5,626	396	1,650	$4,137,249,955	2,656,362	1,461,878
3 Year Average (2006-2008)	263	14	49	$238,145,665	108,167	63,701
5 Year Average (2004-2008)	288	16	50	$473,842,915	109,940	61,086
10 Year Average (1999-2008)	279	17	62	$309,018,497	109,911	67,181
20 Year Average (1989-2008)	281	20	83	$206,862,498	132,818	73,094

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• All Hazardous Liquid Systems
• Onshore Only
• Offshore Only

National Hazardous Liquid: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1989-2008

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)	Gross Barrels Lost	Net Barrels Lost (D)
1989	136	3	38	$13,082,894	201,504	122,745
1990	140	3	7	$22,787,261	123,827	54,443
1991	166	0	9	$53,691,945	200,210	55,575
1992	170	5	38	$53,825,541	136,769	68,647
1993	154	0	10	$38,225,284	116,132	57,218
1994	178	1	(E) 7	$82,391,670	163,920	113,785
1995	156	3	11	$41,821,898	109,931	52,963
1996	174	5	13	$109,820,038	160,188	100,854
1997	162	0	5	$69,934,201	195,421	103,114
1998	140	2	6	$79,100,662	149,348	60,725
1999	147	4	20	$106,413,163	167,082	104,445
2000	135	1	4	$182,782,845	108,614	56,945
2001	108	0	10	$29,203,960	98,046	77,329
2002	133	1	0	$54,546,572	95,663	77,268
2003	121	0	5	$57,121,523	80,008	50,391
2004	134	5	16	$171,004,117	88,145	68,508
2005	129	2	2	$340,082,878	137,052	45,818
2006	106	0	2	$65,484,319	136,499	53,916
2007	107	4	10	$57,673,541	89,909	68,653
2008	114	2	2	$111,912,873	98,091	68,533
Totals	2,810	41	215	$1,740,907,195	2,656,362	1,461,878
3 Year Average (2006-2008)	109	2	5	$78,356,911	108,167	63,701
5 Year Average (2004-2008)	118	3	6	$149,231,546	109,940	61,086
10 Year Average (1999-2008)	123	2	7	$117,622,580	109,911	67,181
20 Year Average (1989-2008)	141	2	11	$87,045,360	132,818	73,094

Export Table

National Hazardous Liquid Onshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1989-2008

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)	Gross Barrels Lost	Net Barrels Lost (D)
1989	135	3	38	$12,305,514	201,494	122,735
1990	137	3	7	$22,404,996	122,825	53,443
1991	165	0	9	$52,752,799	200,209	55,574
1992	165	5	38	$49,378,896	133,778	66,841
1993	152	0	10	$36,732,759	115,764	57,165
1994	176	1	(E) 7	$82,013,912	159,670	109,535
1995	154	3	11	$40,896,968	109,928	52,960
1996	171	5	13	$108,821,784	153,622	94,288
1997	153	0	5	$53,619,448	188,935	99,256
1998	131	2	6	$65,619,015	138,078	51,190
1999	141	4	20	$100,103,222	162,839	100,446
2000	128	1	4	$160,163,431	106,318	54,655
2001	104	0	10	$27,612,729	98,040	77,323
2002	129	1	0	$52,347,974	95,649	77,254
2003	121	0	5	$57,121,523	80,008	50,391
2004	124	5	16	$80,776,866	76,229	58,053
2005	120	2	2	$306,860,792	136,008	44,774
2006	103	0	2	$49,023,089	135,930	53,347
2007	105	4	10	$56,866,254	89,898	68,653
2008	112	2	2	$104,762,837	98,091	68,532
Totals	2,726	41	215	$1,520,184,817	2,603,315	1,416,418
3 Year Average (2006-2008)	107	2	5	$70,217,394	107,974	63,511
5 Year Average (2004-2008)	113	3	6	$119,657,968	107,232	58,672
10 Year Average (1999-2008)	119	2	7	$99,563,872	107,901	65,343
20 Year Average (1989-2008)	136	2	11	$76,009,241	130,166	70,821

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National Hazardous Liquid Offshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1989-2008

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)	Gross Barrels Lost	Net Barrels Lost (D)
1989	1	0	0	$777,380	10	10
1990	3	0	0	$382,264	1,002	1,000
1991	1	0	0	$939,145	1	1
1992	5	0	0	$4,446,644	2,991	1,806
1993	2	0	0	$1,492,525	368	53
1994	2	0	(E) 0	$377,758	4,250	4,250
1995	2	0	0	$924,929	3	3
1996	3	0	0	$998,254	6,566	6,566
1997	9	0	0	$16,314,752	6,486	3,858
1998	9	0	0	$13,481,647	11,270	9,535
1999	6	0	0	$6,309,940	4,243	3,999
2000	7	0	0	$22,619,414	2,296	2,290
2001	4	0	0	$1,591,231	6	6
2002	5	0	0	$2,298,131	137	19
2003	0	0	0	$0	0	0
2004	10	0	0	$90,227,251	11,916	10,455
2005	9	0	0	$33,222,086	1,043	1,043
2006	3	0	0	$16,461,230	569	569
2007	2	0	0	$807,286	11	0
2008	2	0	0	$7,150,036	0	0
Totals	85	0	0	$220,821,911	53,170	45,465
3 Year Average (2006-2008)	2	0	0	$8,139,518	193	190
5 Year Average (2004-2008)	5	0	0	$29,573,578	2,708	2,414
10 Year Average (1999-2008)	5	0	0	$18,068,661	2,022	1,838
20 Year Average (1989-2008)	4	0	0	$11,041,096	2,659	2,273

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• All Gas Transmission Systems
• Onshore Only
• Offshore Only

National Gas Transmission: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1989-2008

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)
1989	40	22	28	$27,807,708
1990	46	0	17	$15,351,343
1991	29	0	11	$15,335,286
1992	42	3	14	$32,069,783
1993	50	1	16	$29,834,437
1994	45	0	22	$58,031,369
1995	32	2	7	$12,290,000
1996	43	1	5	$15,579,587
1997	33	1	5	$13,407,499
1998	51	1	11	$50,796,384
1999	38	2	8	$21,112,870
2000	54	15	16	$19,563,744
2001	50	2	5	$15,193,246
2002	56	1	4	$36,448,090
2003	70	1	8	$59,971,349
2004	62	0	2	$40,098,448
2005	111	0	5	$320,308,196
2006	79	3	4	$40,734,734
2007	75	2	7	$58,360,793
2008	65	0	5	$175,960,166
Totals	1,071	57	200	$1,058,255,042
3 Year Average (2006-2008)	73	2	5	$91,685,231
5 Year Average (2004-2008)	78	1	5	$127,092,468
10 Year Average (1999-2008)	66	3	6	$78,775,164
20 Year Average (1989-2008)	54	3	10	$52,912,752

Export Table

National Gas Transmission Onshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1989-2008

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)
1989	29	4	15	$16,933,707
1990	36	0	15	$13,245,516
1991	27	0	11	$15,014,820
1992	32	3	14	$13,583,582
1993	43	1	16	$22,603,337
1994	34	0	15	$55,319,606
1995	22	0	7	$8,588,961
1996	34	1	5	$13,075,670
1997	26	1	5	$11,496,211
1998	40	1	11	$41,701,984
1999	34	2	8	$20,118,787
2000	45	15	16	$17,550,524
2001	45	2	5	$13,479,013
2002	40	1	4	$22,472,462
2003	62	1	8	$56,089,775
2004	43	0	2	$10,585,230
2005	64	0	5	$210,382,450
2006	60	3	4	$30,538,579
2007	55	2	7	$43,781,219
2008	46	0	5	$109,478,737
Totals	817	37	178	$746,040,179
3 Year Average (2006-2008)	54	2	5	$61,266,179
5 Year Average (2004-2008)	54	1	5	$80,953,243
10 Year Average (1999-2008)	49	3	6	$53,447,678
20 Year Average (1989-2008)	41	2	9	$37,302,009

Export Table

National Gas Transmission Offshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1989-2008

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)
1989	11	18	13	$10,874,000
1990	10	0	2	$2,105,826
1991	2	0	0	$320,465
1992	10	0	0	$18,486,201
1993	7	0	0	$7,231,099
1994	11	0	7	$2,711,763
1995	10	2	0	$3,701,039
1996	9	0	0	$2,503,917
1997	7	0	0	$1,911,287
1998	11	0	0	$9,094,400
1999	4	0	0	$994,082
2000	9	0	0	$2,013,220
2001	5	0	0	$1,714,233
2002	16	0	0	$13,975,628
2003	8	0	0	$3,881,574
2004	19	0	0	$29,513,217
2005	47	0	0	$109,925,746
2006	19	0	0	$10,196,154
2007	20	0	0	$14,579,574
2008	19	0	0	$66,481,429
Totals	254	20	22	$312,214,863
3 Year Average (2006-2008)	19	0	0	$30,419,053
5 Year Average (2004-2008)	25	0	0	$46,139,225
10 Year Average (1999-2008)	17	0	0	$25,327,486
20 Year Average (1989-2008)	13	1	1	$15,610,743

Export Table

National Gas Gathering: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1989-2008

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)
1989	4	0	0	$2,618,449
1990	1	0	0	$524,676
1991	4	0	1	$790,616
1992	6	0	1	$1,652,093
1993	1	0	1	$0
1994	5	0	0	$1,602,756
1995	3	0	3	$158,559
1996	0	0	0	$0
1997	3	0	0	$535,160
1998	7	0	0	$3,399,069
1999	2	0	0	$402,960
2000	3	0	2	$1,037,736
2001	6	0	0	$11,637,215
2002	4	0	1	$1,407,914
2003	3	0	0	$2,092,329
2004	12	0	1	$36,931,049
2005	18	0	2	$160,223,159
2006	12	0	1	$11,767,699
2007	10	0	0	$5,741,632
2008	14	0	0	$113,487,575
Totals	118	0	13	$356,010,653
3 Year Average (2006-2008)	12	0	0	$43,665,636
5 Year Average (2004-2008)	13	0	1	$65,630,223
10 Year Average (1999-2008)	8	0	1	$34,472,927
20 Year Average (1989-2008)	6	0	1	$17,800,533

Export Table

National Gas Distribution: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1989-2008

Year	Number (B)	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (C)
1989	97	20	91	$12,212,718
1990	66	6	52	$10,049,346
1991	80	14	77	$9,803,527
1992	66	7	65	$8,264,557
1993	88	16	84	$19,880,356
1994	98	21	91	$70,430,210
1995	68	16	43	$13,181,437
1996	84	47	109	$19,929,879
1997	69	9	67	$14,527,379
1998	97	18	64	$22,319,386
1999	88	16	80	$31,002,773
2000	98	22	59	$26,375,442
2001	69	5	46	$14,542,372
2002	65	10	44	$26,279,191
2003	103	11	58	$23,835,094
2004	103	18	37	$35,442,777
2005	80	11	38	(F) $550,686,953
2006	60	16	28	$18,035,606
2007	76	9	33	$18,245,401
2008	72	6	56	$37,032,652
Totals	1,627	298	1,222	$982,077,063
3 Year Average (2006-2008)	69	10	39	$24,437,887
5 Year Average (2004-2008)	78	12	38	$131,888,678
10 Year Average (1999-2008)	81	12	48	$78,147,826
20 Year Average (1989-2008)	81	15	61	$49,103,853

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Notes

1. The costs for incidents prior to 2008 are presented in 2008 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. All costs prior to 2008 are expressed in 2008 dollars.
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 1949-2007. Release date: June 29,2009.
2. Gross Domestic Product (Chained) Price Index. Table 10.1 GDP & Deflators Used In the Historical Tables: 1940-2013 (FY2000=1.000). Index verified on July 14, 2009.
3. PHMSA Hazardous Liquid Flagged Incidents File - October 14, 2009
4. PHMSA Gas Transmission Flagged Incidents File - October 14, 2009
5. PHMSA Gas Distribution Flagged Incidents File - October 14, 2009

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