The ability to find underground plastic gas lines is critical to public safety, but some gas companies are reluctant to place a metal conductor with their gas lines out of fear that a lightning strike could lead to an explosive situation.
When plastic pipe and tracer wire are pulled back through a horizontal bore, the tracer wire tends to wrap around the pipe. There are documented cases of lightning strikes that have traveled down the length of the tracer wire. The extreme heat caused by the high voltage transfers from the tracer wire and has caused the plastic pipes to rupture and create a potential hazardous situation.
However, there is a product that has been extensively tested and will not transfer the energy of a lightning strike. Click here to download the test report.
