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Article

11 Jan 2016

Author:
Suzanne Goldenberg, Guardian (UK)

USA: Methane leak at SoCalGas well will contribute to climate change

"A single gas well leak is California's biggest contributor to climate change", 5 Jan 2016

…The broken well at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage site has released more than 77,000 metric tons of the powerful climate pollutant methane…Locals have complained of headaches, sore throats, nosebleeds and nausea, caused by the rotten-egg smell of the odorant added to the gas…by SoCalGas, the utility that operates the natural gas storage site. About 1,000 people are suing the company…Campaign groups said the release undercuts Barack Obama’s efforts to…live up to US commitments to a historic climate accord agreed in Paris last month...R Rex Parris, who is suing the gas company on behalf of Porter Ranch residents, said the site should have been shut down long ago. He faulted the company for removing a blow-out preventer at the bottom of the well in 1979. “They deliberately took the brakes off the car and continued to drive it…” A company spokeswoman said the well was in compliance with state regulations.