Report: Faulty plug, human error in gas leak

A deliveryman's mistakes in identifying critical valves and a plastic plug that gave way under pressure contributed to the propane tank leak that forced the evacuation of 2,000 people near a Shirley shopping center on New Year's Day, investigators said Monday.

Their report doesn't reveal who is responsible for placing the plastic plug at the vulnerable spot instead of the more commonly used, sturdier metal plug. Synergy Gas, the tank's owner, said a contractor did work in October to upgrade the tank to meet new industry standards, which take effect in July.

In its report, Brookhaven's Division of Fire Prevention said that the deliveryman, from L.P. Transportation Inc. of Chester, N.Y., found the tank's supply valve open - it was supposed to be closed - and so he assumed it was a valve for another purpose. He then opened an adjacent valve, not connected to the tank's delivery system, that he thought was the correct one to allow him to pump in 9,500 gallons of propane he carried.

That valve - actually designed to remove gas from the tank - had a "plastic dust cap" instead of the metal plug that Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko said should have been installed. As the deliveryman filled the tank, the plastic cap gave way under pressure, allowing the propane to escape into the air, according to the report.

The deliveryman, who could not be reached for comment, failed to clear away enough snow to see the color coding on four valves or the lack of piping on the valve he opened. Had he done so, or had there been an "approved plug" in place, the leak could have been averted, the report found.

"The driver did not assess the situation properly," Lesko said. "And that's the cause of the incident."

L.P. Transportation did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Lesko said Synergy also had failed to obtain permits and pay fees to perform recent safety upgrades to the tank and would be fined. Lesko did not know how much those fines would be, but said Synergy had belatedly paid its fees. He did not know their dollar amount.

Though the report indicates criminal summonses are possible for the responsible parties, Lesko said the summonses would amount to little more than town code violations.

There's no indication that the non-permitted work contributed to the leak, Lesko said, and primary responsibility rests with the deliveryman.

Bob Melick, regional vice president for Titan Propane LLC, which does business on Long Island as Synergy Gas, said his company was "investigating the circumstances" of the independent contractor's work.

Still, Lesko said he expected Synergy, or whatever insurance carrier is on the hook after the company talks with L.P. Transportation, to pay the town and Suffolk County for the considerable, though undetermined, cost of responding to the leak.

Melick said it's too early to talk of compensation until fault is determined. "However, we intend to initiate a discussion with the town and county concerning emergency response costs as soon as reasonably possible," he said in an e-mail.

Experts differed on how catastrophic a fire would have been had a spark ignited the leaking gas from the underground tank behind a Kohl's on Montauk Highway. The closest homes are about 500 feet to the north of the tank and the closest businesses about 120 feet away.

Rick Schultheis, a forensic engineer based in California who has investigated propane explosions, said the gas could have turned into a "very, very fast fire." It had the potential to "scorch" building walls and break windows 300 feet or more away. Anyone in its path would have been burned, possibly fatally, though such fires usually don't pack much explosive force.

But Gerard Stocker, a Lebanon, N.J., engineer traveling to Long Island on Wednesday to help fix the tank, said the tank's placement underground would have limited the damage.

With Michael Amon

Fire marshal's report on gas leak