Study: There is a natural gas explosion every 40 hours in the U.S.

Just months after a fatal natural gas explosion in Plum, another home was leveled last week in Sewickley Heights.

Scary, but not surprising according to a Natural Gas Safety Expert from New Cosmos Electric Company, there is a natural gas explosion every 40 hours in the United States.

In the last few years in PA alone there have been 38 natural gas incidents, 43 injures, six that were serious and 22 deaths.

Julie Harris with the company says one of the reasons for the seeming increase in natural gas explosions is aging infrastructure.

“We see corroded piping, gas leaks, we are using our grandparent’s aged piping with less than 1 percent of gas mains being replaced a year,” said Harris.

The best way to try and prevent a natural gas explosion in your home? You can start with getting a natural gas alarm installed.

New York City has passed a law that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2024 that requires natural gas alarms in homes with gas appliances. There are several states that are now considering these laws.

Source: Audacity.com, KDKA News Radio