Expert Panel to Check Metro Rail for Gas Dangers
A panel of 10 experts was named Wednesday to review the safety of proposed Metro Rail subway tunneling under downtown Los Angeles, particularly where it passes through potentially hazardous methane gas pockets.
City officials reluctantly agreed in September to form the panel after Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) voiced concern that the tunneling might lead to an explosion.
Waxman’s concern arose after underground gas exploded in the Fairfax area of his district, injuring 21 people and blowing apart a clothing store. Threatening to oppose additional federal funding for the project, Waxman won a guarantee that the subway would be rerouted around a 400-block area on the Westside and a promise to reexamine the downtown tunneling plan.
The panel’s first public meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m Tuesday in Room 350 at City Hall. The expert panel is scheduled to submit its report to the City Council by Dec. 31. so its work will not delay a hoped-for ground breaking early next year.
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