Exploding manhole covers in London.

A series of pavement explosions has injured at least seven pedestrians in London in recent months, the Standard can reveal today. One pensioner is now suing a power supply company after he was left seriously injured by an explosion under a manhole in a London street. Details of his case have emerged just weeks after a woman pedestrian suffered 20 per cent burns in a similar freak explosion in Edgware Road.

Source, Evening Standard.

According to Howstuffworks...

Underground cables become frayed from aging, corrosive chemicals, overload or rats biting them. These cables carry on the order of 13,000 volts of electricity. These electrical wires heat up the paper, lead and rubber insulation. The insulation smolders and catches on fire, releasing gases. The pressure from the gas builds up inside the manhole. The electrical wires arc like a bolt of lightning and ignite the gases, causing a powerful explosion. Depending on the amount of gas-pressure built up inside the manhole, the cover may flip over or be launched several feet in the air. Often, there may not be an explosion, just a lot of smoke or fire.

So what's causing all these manholes to explode in London at the moment? Surely it has to be something out of the ordinary, otherwise this would be a common event, and companies might be better prepared for it happening, rather then offering the elderly gentleman mentioned in the article "a bottle of wine or a food hamper."

Just to show you how dangerous a problem this is, please watch this video.



Thoughts?

It's them thar terrerists, come to blow up them thar olyimpic games.

Ok all joking aside what am I supposed to think about something that is quite clearly explained?
Or, Could the manhole covers actually be sentient? It appears they are in a state of rebellion and doing their darnedest to injure or maim the humans that walk upon them daily, as if they don't exist? I would not be happy to be a manhole cover......

Or could it be aliens attempting to mine the precious steel in these eighty pound beasties?

Sorry could not help myself.

That video is relatively minor to what could happen...

This video is from a steam pipe explosion in NYC - Manhatten.



Thats just steam... Add in comubstible gases on a larger order in London and watch the fireworks...

After reading the quote you posted, it seems the London Power company is not performing the neccesary upkeep on the power lines. Thus they fail, release gases and cause explosions.

I would suggest several reasons why these are happening more frequently...

1. The load on the antiquated system is not being managed properly. Perhaps an increase in development in an area, or the use of more energy efficient items is altering the load on these cables.

2. High speed internet is being rolled out in various areas, perhaps meddling by contractors laying fiber optic cables is causing damage to the lines?

3. The Olympic site has required a lot of increased capacity, the systems have increased supply in London to deal with that but the cables cannot keep up with the higher demand.

I would basically put this down to a complete lack of investment in infrastructure over the last few years. This is what happens when you sell off national infrastructure to corporations who just want a profit in the short term and don't give a damn about their customers, the public, the long term stability of the company or anything else beyond this quarters profits.

I thought maybe it was TSHTF.....

is it too soon for jokes?

How quickly we forget just how utterly devestating such events can actually be. The Guadalajara explosion of 1992 comes to mind. Entire city blocks were decimated in a matter of seconds as this deadly chain reaction ripped through the historical district. Scary stuff, indeed.

Originally posted by Mamatus
I would not be happy to be a manhole cover......

Lifestyle choices are getting stranger and stranger

reply to post by nostromo85


I bet that couple had to change their underwear!
What i find most worrying is that it is the same man hole cover that explodes on 2 occasions in the OP video!
Once fair enough, but surely corrective action was taken.

I can't help but think this is a lack of upkeep, or perhaps even caused by too many people pouring cooking grease down the drains. The grease solidifies in the sewers causes blockages where natural and unnatural gasses collect and capoot. either the decomposition of waste materials, plus the condensation of the gasses they produce, gas insulates, heat rises, self or small spark produces greater ignition capoooooootttt.

As well, this could very well be caused by a crack in the system where natural methane from the warming earth is being released. It seems more and more methane springs have popped up around the world. I believe in Russia right now, swaths of methane gas wells have been erupting from permafrost beds that are essentially Ice free, cracking and spewing their stinky spoils to the surface.

It's also possible methane wells deep under london are finding their way to the surface. It would make sense a metropolitan hub as old as london, would have heaps of natural gas hidden beneath it's sediment.

The America they would have run screaming for homeland security, but in the UK ..they just cross to the other side of the street lol.

Sorry guys, it was me. I knew that curry would be a disaster.

Originally posted by detachedindividual
I would basically put this down to a complete lack of investment in infrastructure over the last few years. This is what happens when you sell off national infrastructure to corporations who just want a profit in the short term and don't give a damn about their customers, the public, the long term stability of the company or anything else beyond this quarters profits.

Agreed! Another example of what happens when essential infrastructures are privatised and profit rather than service becomes imperative. And like the examples of cost cutting demonstrated on the rail networks, someone will probably have to be killed before anyone is brought to book for cutting corners. And then only at the vast expense to tax payers that the inquiry will wrought.

When will the regulating and contract awarding authorities understand that the lowest bidder is not necessarily being honest, let alone realistic when they tender their bids. At the very least those bodies should know what the cost of maintaining is, and award contracts in concordance with cost effectiveness and replacing out-dated systems. At the very least botch jobs and cowboys should not be rewarded with contract renewals