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12 million cubic feet of natural gas released after rupture near Florida's Turnpike

Minor leak reported not far from site in 2012
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Posted at 6:19 PM, Oct 05, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-05 18:19:42-04

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Contact 5 is learning new details about a natural gas line that ruptured late last month next to Florida's Turnpike near Lake Worth Road.

More than a week and a half after the incident, there is still no word on the cause of the failure.

According to a federal incident report, Florida Gas Transmission reported that the rupture of the 18-inch transmission pipeline released 12 million cubic feet of natural gas into the air.

Security cameras at a nearby business caught the moment the line ruptured. The incident closed the turnpike for hours and led to a shelter in place and evacuations.

A U.S. Department of Transportation incident report located by Contact 5 shows a minor natural gas leak not far from the site in 2012.

According to the report, in that incident, only 6,000 standard cubic feet of gas released.

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