Environmental, public health, and safety assessment of fuel pipelines and other freight transportation modes

摘要

The construction of pipelines along high-throughput fuel corridors can alleviate demand for rail, barge, and truck transportation. Pipelines have a very different externality profile than other freight transportation modes due to differences in construction, operation, and maintenance requirements; labor, energy, and material input intensity; location and profile of emissions from operations; and frequency and magnitude of environmental and safety incidents. Therefore, public policy makers have a strong justification to influence the economic viability of pipelines. We use data from prior literature and U.S. government statistics to estimate environmental, public health, and safety characterization factors for pipelines and other modes.