Gas Line Breach by Trencher Machine Kills Construction Worker in Rural Kansas

By Mary Mitchell

Published on October 03, 2006

The blast and flames were noted from miles away. Workers from Double J Pipeline Construction of Baldwin City, Kansas, including Foran, had been digging the trench to replace old pipe on behalf of Admiral Bay Resources Inc. of Centennial, Colorado -- a gas production company with several wells in the area. The local gas utility, Southern Star Natural Gas Co., shut off the gas to the area after the blast, interrupting gas service to about 275 customers near the towns of Liberty and Mound Valley. A one-mile radius was used to evacuate about 50 construction workers and area residents.

The accident is being investigated by the Kansas Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities, the Kansas Fire Marshal's Office, the Department of Transportation's Office of Pipeline Safety, and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. According to his autopsy, Foran, of Holdenville, Oklahoma, died of burns.

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