Treasure Hunt for Coastal Gaslink
Over the past few months, several sections of the coastal gaslink pipeline have been vandalized. Financially, the consequences of each act were minor: a few holes in the pipeline here, some corroded welding seams there, damaged concrete here. Our goal was to contribute to the small delays in a project that was already well over budget.
- We drilled holes less than a penny wide in a section of pipe that had not yet been lowered into the trench. We covered the holes with fiberglass film, which temporarily prevents leaks in the pipes, but only lasts a few months. We know that welded sections of coated pipe are assessed before being lowered into the trench. After the trench is backfilled, they are tested under pressure. The holes were sealed in the hope that they would pass the first pressure test, but will have to be excavated and repaired before the pipeline is completed. This occurred during the last week of October on section 8 of the pipeline, between Kilometers 610 and 613.
- Between 585 and 588 kilometers of the pipeline, we found a section of pipe that had been dug out, so we damaged the coating at the joints by chipping and sanding it off in less visible places. This coating is needed to protect the pipe from corrosion and rust. We did this in early November. We liked this approach because the damage is not visible, but can still have a significant long-term structural impact if corrosion and rust show up, so it will need to be fixed.
screw loosened and exponentially with each foot completely unscrewed. It is up to you, as a group, to decide how far you want to go. In all cases, plan the action taking into account the possibility of the mast falling while you are still there. Both at the base of the mast and where the cables touch the ground, there is a potentially lethal amounts of electricity on the ground within a certain radius! Move away from the object as quickly as possible in the opposite direction of the fall. Ensure that your body remains in contact with the ground at all times (grounding), walking with small “shuffling” steps. Make sure that the weather conditions are favorable. Do not perform this action in strong wind, heavy rain or snowfall!
ground, a tangle of cables of all kinds. On the side, two others patiently arrange portions of fiber optics, “it’s like long hair that is tangled”.
