Safety board sees room for improvement in pipeline control systems

摘要

Spurred by a number of hazardous liquid accidents in which automated control system leak alarms were not recognized by control personnel, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) (Washington, D.C.) recently completed a study of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems in liquid pipelines. SCADA systems collect information from pipeline sensors in real time, displaying it to human controllers who monitor pipelines from remote sites. Controllers also use SCADA systems to remotely operate pipeline equipment, such as valves and pumps. SCADA systems are widely used in the oil, gas, electricity, and municipal water industries. The NTSB examined the role of SCADA systems in 13 hazardous liquid pipeline accidents between April 1992 and October 2004. A preliminary report on the study indicates that in 10 of these accidents, some aspect of a SCADA system contributed to the severity of the accident.