Methane Gas Pockets May Kill Metro Rail--Waxman

Drilling a tunnel through pockets of methane gas along the proposed Metro Rail route could be dangerous and may prove to be the final blow for the embattled subway project, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) said Friday.

“Metro Rail has been hanging by a thread,” said Waxman, who summoned representatives of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and other agencies to a hearing on the aftermath of the March 24 methane blast that injured 21 people at a dress store in the Fairfax District.

He said proponents of the $3.3-billion dollar subway system gave “very strong testimony” that the project, which is slated to pass through the district, could be built safely. But, he said, some of the testimony at the West Wilshire Recreation Center on Gardner Street raised “some very serious questions” about the safety of the project.

Waxman, who has been counted as a supporter of Metro Rail, commented after hearing testimony from Byron M. Ishkanian, principal engineer for mining and tunneling of the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and Ronald J. Lofy, an engineer who was called in as a consultant by the city after the recent explosion and fire at the Ross Dress for Less Store near Farmers Market.

Ishkanian told the congressman that methane gas is usually the cause of underground gas explosions.

“The potential for unforeseen contact with these gases, particularly in tunneling, is always present,” Ishkanian said.

But Ishkanian also said that if the RTD follows state rules for tunneling, there should be no mishaps involving workers or residents.

Lofy, however, said he had greater doubts.

Although there would be relatively little danger once a subway tunnel was in place, he said, “I do not know if any of the present-day conventional tunneling equipment and safety procedures would be able to cope with (an) unexpected chance breakthrough” into a large pocket of natural gas, such as those that exist along the Wilshire corridor.

RTD Defends Route

Waxman said the RTD “may not be able to establish that this is the safest route. In that case, I think they’re not going to be be able to succeed in going forward.”

Speaking for the RTD, General Manger John A. Dyer said studies have concluded that much of the route from downtown Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley would pass through gassy areas.

But, he said, precautionary measures would be taken during drilling. He said a gas detection system would be used, and, if gas were encountered, fans and other equipment to ensure adequate ventilation would be employed.

Once built, he said, steel tunnel liners and the natural ventilation caused by passing trains would prevent dangerous gas buildups.

“With good engineering, the tunnel can be made safe,” he said. He cited the successes of subway builders in Japan and Washington, who bored through gaseous soils.

Other speakers at the hearing included Diana Plotkin, vice president of the Beverly Wilshire Homeowners Assn., who said residents are “deeply concerned” about the possibility of another explosion.

Methane Source Identified

“Whose idea was it to build a Metro Rail through an oil field?” she asked.

A report submitted to the City Council this week concluded that decomposing organic matter, not an old oil field as had first been thought, was the most probable source of the methane gas that exploded in the basement of the dress store.

The Reagan Administration has opposed allocating funds to build the subway, contending that it is too expensive.

But the Administration lost a skirmish two weeks ago when a key House subcommittee rebuffed its attempt to block financing of the project. The Administration had asked Congress to shift start-up money already allocated by Congress. But the House appropriations subcommittee on transportation rejected the request.