Natural Gas leaks
Now this is disturbing. The natural gas pipeline system that supplies 65 million customers in the US is not only old, it's poorly maintained. Some of the pipes in the Boston area are over a century old and made with cast iron or (even) wood. The problem is that a financially strapped US simply doesn't invest in infrastructure anymore.
How badly are these pipes leaking? A recent study by Boston University found 3,000 leaks at the street level in the Boston area. A handful of these leaks were large enough to be explosive.
There are even some civil suits underway against gas companies for the damage natural gas leaks have caused to trees/vegetation (there's $133 million in property damage a year from leaks). Regardless, I'm sure this can't be healthy for the people living there.
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