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Economic impact analysis to optimize investments in damage prevention for pipeline construction.

Bernold LE

New Pipeline Technologies, Security, and Safety. International Conference on Pipeline Engineering and Construction, July 13-16, 2003, Baltimore, Maryland. M Najafi, ed., Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2003 Jul; :384-393

https://doi.org/10.1061/40690(2003)65

20029357

While reports about underground utility damages due to excavation mishaps are abound, models for assessing the economic impact of such accidents have not been developed. The effort that is reported in this paper found that the total cost of utility damages are grossly underreported because only the direct costs of the emergency response and of repairing the damage are included. Generally the list of potentially impacted parties comprises not only the contractor, utility and property owners, people in the vicinity of the accidents but all the customer of a disrupted utility. An economic impact study that was conducted at NCSU covered the following parties: (1) municipal services including the fire and police departments, department of public works, and emergency medical services; (2) the utility company that owns the severed line; (3) the stores and businesses that were evacuated; and (4) the residents that were evacuated from the surrounding areas. It was found that the actual cost, without the lost gas and the lawyers' fees, was ten times the reported direct cost. The paper will present this economic model as a basis to justify higher investments in prevention.

Construction; Construction-equipment; Construction-industry; Construction-materials; Construction-workers; Models; Occupational-accidents; Accidents; Accident-prevention

20030613

Abstract; Conference/Symposia Proceedings

Najafi M

579751

Grant

2003

Grant-Number-R01-OH-004201

New Pipeline Technologies, Security, and Safety. International Conference on Pipeline Engineering and Construction, July 13-16, 2003, Baltimore, Maryland

NC

North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina