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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 Incident and Mileage Reports are available.

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

National All Pipeline Systems: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1988-2008 YTD

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (B)	Gross Barrels Lost	Barrels Recovered	Net Barrels Lost
1988	320	27	144	$81,290,841	198,111	83,701	114,410
1989	277	45	157	$53,649,359	201,504	78,759	122,745
1990	253	9	76	$46,900,896	123,827	69,384	54,443
1991	279	14	98	$76,660,097	200,210	144,635	55,575
1992	284	15	118	$92,248,528	136,769	68,122	68,647
1993	293	17	111	$84,669,396	116,132	58,914	57,218
1994	326	22	(C) 120	$204,554,330	163,920	50,135	113,785
1995	259	21	64	$64,943,217	109,931	56,968	52,963
1996	301	53	127	$139,924,390	160,188	59,334	100,854
1997	267	10	77	$94,744,357	195,421	92,307	103,114
1998	295	21	81	$149,827,837	149,348	88,623	60,725
1999	275	22	108	$153,020,759	167,082	62,637	104,445
2000	290	38	81	$221,214,525	108,614	51,669	56,945
2001	233	7	61	$67,951,898	98,046	20,717	77,329
2002	258	12	49	$113,731,700	95,663	18,395	77,268
2003	296	12	71	$135,834,912	80,041	29,587	50,454
2004	330	23	60	$274,554,758	88,145	19,636	68,508
2005	359	16	48	(D) $1,089,283,166	137,051	91,234	45,817
2006	268	19	33	$130,437,000	136,497	82,534	53,962
2007	283	15	53	$131,037,167	89,620	21,158	68,461
2008 YTD	148	1	29	$476,073,448	90,952	18,155	72,797
Totals	5,894	419	1,766	$3,882,552,581	2,847,074	1,266,605	1,580,468
5 Year Average (2003-2007)	307	17	53	$352,229,401	106,271	48,830	57,441
10 Year Average (1998-2007)	289	19	65	$246,689,372	115,011	48,619	66,392
20 Year Average (1988-2007)	287	21	87	$170,323,957	137,806	62,423	75,384

• All Hazardous Liquid Systems
• Onshore Only
• Offshore Only

National Hazardous Liquid: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1988-2008 YTD

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (B)	Gross Barrels Lost	Barrels Recovered	Net Barrels Lost
1988	167	2	19	$49,820,286	198,111	83,701	114,410
1989	136	3	38	$12,596,312	201,504	78,759	122,745
1990	140	3	7	$21,939,754	123,827	69,384	54,443
1991	166	0	9	$51,695,037	200,210	144,635	55,575
1992	170	5	38	$51,823,655	136,769	68,122	68,647
1993	154	0	10	$36,803,604	116,132	58,914	57,218
1994	178	1	(C) 7	$79,327,355	163,920	50,135	113,785
1995	156	3	11	$40,266,456	109,931	56,968	52,963
1996	174	5	13	$105,735,595	160,188	59,334	100,854
1997	162	0	5	$67,333,190	195,421	92,307	103,114
1998	140	2	6	$76,158,742	149,348	88,623	60,725
1999	147	4	20	$102,455,431	167,082	62,637	104,445
2000	135	1	4	$175,984,771	108,614	51,669	56,945
2001	108	0	10	$28,117,802	98,046	20,717	77,329
2002	133	1	0	$52,517,891	95,663	18,395	77,268
2003	120	0	5	$54,538,763	80,041	29,587	50,454
2004	134	5	16	$159,374,554	88,145	19,636	68,508
2005	128	2	2	$160,849,462	137,051	91,234	45,817
2006	105	0	2	$60,442,746	136,497	82,534	53,962
2007	105	4	10	$49,639,840	89,620	21,158	68,461
2008 YTD	55	0	0	$30,740,219	90,952	18,155	72,797
Totals	2,913	41	232	$1,468,161,465	2,847,074	1,266,605	1,580,468
5 Year Average (2003-2007)	118	2	7	$96,969,073	106,271	48,830	57,441
10 Year Average (1998-2007)	126	2	8	$92,008,000	115,011	48,619	66,392
20 Year Average (1988-2007)	143	2	12	$71,871,062	137,806	62,423	75,384

National Hazardous Liquid Onshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1988-2008 YTD

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (B)	Gross Barrels Lost	Barrels Recovered	Net Barrels Lost
1988	164	2	19	$49,230,904	182,478	83,701	98,777
1989	135	3	38	$11,847,844	201,494	78,759	122,735
1990	137	3	7	$21,571,706	122,825	69,382	53,443
1991	165	0	9	$50,790,820	200,209	144,635	55,574
1992	165	5	38	$47,542,391	133,778	66,937	66,841
1993	152	0	10	$35,366,589	115,764	58,599	57,165
1994	176	1	(C) 7	$78,963,646	159,670	50,135	109,535
1995	154	3	11	$39,375,927	109,928	56,968	52,960
1996	171	5	13	$104,774,468	153,622	59,334	94,288
1997	153	0	5	$51,625,218	188,935	89,679	99,256
1998	131	2	6	$63,178,505	138,078	86,888	51,190
1999	141	4	20	$96,380,171	162,839	62,393	100,446
2000	128	1	4	$154,206,620	106,318	51,663	54,655
2001	104	0	10	$26,585,752	98,040	20,717	77,323
2002	129	1	0	$50,401,063	95,649	18,395	77,254
2003	120	0	5	$54,538,763	80,041	29,587	50,454
2004	124	5	16	$72,503,045	76,229	18,175	58,053
2005	118	2	2	$126,702,911	136,006	91,234	44,772
2006	103	0	2	$45,209,988	135,928	82,534	53,393
2007	103	4	10	$48,862,578	89,609	21,147	68,461
2008 YTD	55	0	0	$30,740,219	90,952	18,155	72,797
Totals	2,828	41	232	$1,260,399,128	2,778,393	1,259,018	1,519,374
5 Year Average (2003-2007)	114	2	7	$69,563,457	103,563	48,536	55,027
10 Year Average (1998-2007)	120	2	8	$73,856,940	111,874	48,273	63,600
20 Year Average (1988-2007)	139	2	12	$61,482,945	134,372	62,043	72,329

National Hazardous Liquid Offshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1988-2008 YTD

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (B)	Gross Barrels Lost	Barrels Recovered	Net Barrels Lost
1988	3	0	0	$589,382	15,633	0	15,633
1989	1	0	0	$748,468	10	0	10
1990	3	0	0	$368,048	1,002	2	1,000
1991	1	0	0	$904,217	1	0	1
1992	5	0	0	$4,281,264	2,991	1,185	1,806
1993	2	0	0	$1,437,015	368	315	53
1994	2	0	(C) 0	$363,709	4,250	0	4,250
1995	2	0	0	$890,529	3	0	3
1996	3	0	0	$961,127	6,566	0	6,566
1997	9	0	0	$15,707,972	6,486	2,628	3,858
1998	9	0	0	$12,980,237	11,270	1,735	9,535
1999	6	0	0	$6,075,260	4,243	244	3,999
2000	7	0	0	$21,778,151	2,296	6	2,290
2001	4	0	0	$1,532,050	6	0	6
2002	5	0	0	$2,212,660	137	118	19
2003	0	0	0	$0	0	0	0
2004	10	0	0	$86,871,509	11,916	1,461	10,455
2005	10	0	0	$34,146,551	1,045	0	1,045
2006	2	0	0	$15,232,758	569	0	569
2007	2	0	0	$777,262	11	11	0
2008 YTD	0	0	0	$0	0	0	0
Totals	86	0	0	$207,858,169	68,804	7,705	61,099
5 Year Average (2003-2007)	5	0	0	$27,405,616	2,708	294	2,414
10 Year Average (1998-2007)	6	0	0	$18,160,644	3,149	358	2,792
20 Year Average (1988-2007)	4	0	0	$10,392,908	3,440	385	3,055

• All Gas Transmission Systems
• Onshore Only
• Offshore Only

National Gas Transmission: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1988-2008 YTD

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (B)
1988	39	2	9	$13,287,119
1989	40	22	28	$26,773,481
1990	46	0	17	$14,780,393
1991	29	0	11	$14,764,934
1992	42	3	14	$30,877,042
1993	50	1	16	$28,724,828
1994	45	0	22	$55,873,063
1995	32	2	7	$11,832,909
1996	43	1	5	$15,000,148
1997	33	1	5	$12,908,841
1998	51	1	11	$48,907,160
1999	38	2	8	$20,327,637
2000	54	15	16	$18,836,127
2001	50	2	5	$14,628,179
2002	56	1	4	$34,558,619
2003	69	1	8	$56,232,363
2004	62	0	2	$38,262,823
2005	109	0	5	$237,060,081
2006	79	3	4	$38,827,399
2007	76	2	7	$52,450,130
2008 YTD	26	0	1	$99,874,191
Totals	1,069	59	205	$884,787,467
5 Year Average (2003-2007)	79	1	5	$84,566,559
10 Year Average (1998-2007)	64	3	7	$56,009,052
20 Year Average (1988-2007)	52	3	10	$39,245,664

National Gas Transmission Onshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1988-2008 YTD

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (B)
1988	31	2	9	$6,707,495
1989	29	4	15	$16,303,908
1990	36	0	15	$12,752,886
1991	27	0	11	$14,456,388
1992	32	3	14	$13,078,382
1993	43	1	16	$21,762,669
1994	34	0	15	$53,262,154
1995	22	0	7	$8,269,519
1996	34	1	5	$12,589,359
1997	26	1	5	$11,068,640
1998	40	1	11	$40,150,999
1999	34	2	8	$19,370,526
2000	45	15	16	$16,897,783
2001	45	2	5	$12,977,701
2002	40	1	4	$21,306,317
2003	61	1	8	$52,523,788
2004	43	0	2	$10,045,995
2005	63	0	5	$133,926,996
2006	60	3	4	$29,028,773
2007	55	2	7	$39,477,042
2008 YTD	22	0	1	$97,230,142
Totals	822	39	183	$643,187,462
5 Year Average (2003-2007)	56	1	5	$53,000,519
10 Year Average (1998-2007)	49	3	7	$37,570,592
20 Year Average (1988-2007)	40	2	9	$27,297,866

National Gas Transmission Offshore: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1988-2008 YTD

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (B)
1988	8	0	0	$6,579,624
1989	11	18	13	$10,469,573
1990	10	0	2	$2,027,507
1991	2	0	0	$308,546
1992	10	0	0	$17,798,660
1993	7	0	0	$6,962,159
1994	11	0	7	$2,610,909
1995	10	2	0	$3,563,390
1996	9	0	0	$2,410,789
1997	7	0	0	$1,840,201
1998	11	0	0	$8,756,161
1999	4	0	0	$957,111
2000	9	0	0	$1,938,344
2001	5	0	0	$1,650,478
2002	16	0	0	$13,252,302
2003	8	0	0	$3,708,575
2004	19	0	0	$28,216,828
2005	46	0	0	$103,133,085
2006	19	0	0	$9,798,626
2007	21	0	0	$12,973,088
2008 YTD	4	0	0	$2,644,049
Totals	247	20	22	$241,600,005
5 Year Average (2003-2007)	23	0	0	$31,566,040
10 Year Average (1998-2007)	16	0	0	$18,438,460
20 Year Average (1988-2007)	12	1	1	$11,947,798

National Gas Gathering: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1988-2008 YTD

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (B)
1988	3	0	2	$357,673
1989	4	0	0	$2,521,064
1990	1	0	0	$505,163
1991	4	0	1	$761,212
1992	6	0	1	$1,590,650
1993	1	0	1	$0
1994	5	0	0	$1,543,146
1995	3	0	3	$152,662
1996	0	0	0	$0
1997	3	0	0	$515,256
1998	7	0	0	$3,272,652
1999	2	0	0	$387,973
2000	3	0	2	$999,140
2001	6	0	0	$11,204,403
2002	4	0	1	$1,353,379
2003	3	0	0	$2,004,379
2004	12	0	1	$35,512,214
2005	18	0	2	$154,202,257
2006	12	0	1	$11,304,786
2007	10	0	0	$5,512,694
2008 YTD	3	0	0	$6,909,335
Totals	110	0	15	$240,610,038
5 Year Average (2003-2007)	11	0	1	$41,707,266
10 Year Average (1998-2007)	8	0	1	$22,575,388
20 Year Average (1988-2007)	5	0	1	$11,685,035

National Gas Distribution: Significant Incidents Summary Statistics: 1988-2008 YTD

Year	Number	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage (A) (B)
1988	111	23	114	$17,825,763
1989	97	20	91	$11,758,502
1990	66	6	52	$9,675,586
1991	80	14	77	$9,438,914
1992	66	7	65	$7,957,181
1993	88	16	84	$19,140,964
1994	98	21	91	$67,810,766
1995	68	16	43	$12,691,190
1996	84	47	109	$19,188,647
1997	69	9	67	$13,987,070
1998	97	18	64	$21,489,283
1999	88	16	80	$29,849,718
2000	98	22	59	$25,394,487
2001	69	5	46	$14,001,514
2002	65	10	44	$25,301,811
2003	104	11	58	$23,059,407
2004	122	18	41	$41,405,167
2005	104	14	39	(D) $537,171,366
2006	72	16	26	$19,862,069
2007	92	9	36	$23,434,503
2008 YTD	64	1	28	$338,549,703
Totals	1,802	319	1,314	$1,288,993,611
5 Year Average (2003-2007)	99	14	40	$128,986,502
10 Year Average (1998-2007)	91	14	49	$76,096,933
20 Year Average (1988-2007)	87	16	64	$47,522,195

Notes

1. Costs in the current year (2008) are nominal (as reported). The costs for incidents prior to 2008 are presented in 2007 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. 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 2007 dollars. Costs in current year (2008) are nominal.
3. 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.
4. 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 30, 2008.
2. Gross Domestic Product (Chained) Price Index. Table 10.1 GDP & Deflators Used In the Historical Tables: 1940-2012 (FY2000=1.000) Accessed July 14, 2008.
3. PHMSA Hazardous Liquid Filtered Incidents File - July 14, 2008
4. PHMSA Gas Transmission Filtered Incidents File - July 14, 2008
5. PHMSA Gas Distribution Filtered Incidents File - July 14, 2008

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