"SAN BRUNO -- Much of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s natural-gas transmission system could be at risk of catastrophic failure, but the company's record-keeping system is so flawed that the true danger is impossible to determine, federal investigators said Monday in their final report on last year's San Bruno disaster."

"The National Transportation Safety Board said PG&E had made numerous mistakes in the management of its transmission-pipeline system, including its failure to test more widely for substandard welds after finding several defects on the pipeline that exploded Sept. 9, 2010, and on other pipelines.

Citing "multiple and recurring deficiencies in PG&E operational practices," the safety board found that PG&E suffered from a "systemic problem" related to safety.

The report also said state and federal regulators had not done enough to ensure the company was running a safe system, instead placing what the safety board's chairwoman called "blind trust" in PG&E despite a dismal track record."

Jaxon Van Derbeken reports for the San Francisco Chronicle September 26, 2011. [2]

SEE ALSO:

NTSB Report Summary/Release [3]