West Virginia Pipeline Explosion

Cost: N/A

Investigation is still underway for a Dec. 11, 2012 gas pipelineexplosion in West Virginia. The explosion from a 20-inch ColumbiaGas Transmission line triggered a massive fire that destroyed homesand charred a stretch of Interstate 77 near Sissionville, about 15miles from Charleston. There were no reported injuries.

The National Transportation Safety Board is currentlyinvestigating the cause, and has said that the line showed signs ofexternal corrosion and had thinned out to approximately one-thirdof the recommended thickness in some spots—factors that ColumbiaGas Transmission may have to pay for later.

(AP Photo/National Transportation Safety Board)

Sandy Creek Power Plant Accident

Cost: N/A

Standard and Poor's reported that an accident on Oct. 17, 2011set back the opening of the Sandy Creek Power Plant in Riesel,Texas. What exactly happened at the coal plant remains a mystery.Those involved with the plant's construction, as well asregulators, are keeping mum about the incident, which was describedby S&P as “a number of tubes overheated that badly damaged thebroiler.”

As a result, the plant is expected to come online this spring—aone-year setback. Sandy Creek was set to produce 925 megawatts ofelectricity for Texas.

(AP Photo/Waco Tribune-Herald, Duane A. Laverty)

Connecticut Power Plant Explosion

Cost: $16.6 million

The Kleen Energy Systems power station in Middletown, Conn. hadbeen under construction for two years when an explosion occurred onFebruary 7, 2010. The initial blast killed five people and injuredat least 50—one of which later died in the hospital. The explosionwas reportedly caused by an inadvertent spark that ignited naturalgas stored at the facility.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined 17companies involved in the construction of the plant a total of$16.6 million. In addition, Advisenreports that Kleen Energy agreed to pay Connecticut Light &Power ratepayers $8.4 million in lower utility bills for delayedenergy production as well as for estimated damages of $50 millionon the facility and $100 million in business interruption.

(AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

San Bruno Pipeline Explosion

Cost: $70 million (and counting)

A 30-inch diameter steel natural gas line owned by Pacific Gasand Electric (PG&E) exploded in flames in San Bruno, Calif. onSeptember 9, 2010. The explosion and subsequent fire roared throughthe California suburb, causing evacuations and killing eightpeople.

Early in 2012, PG&E agreed to pay $70 million in restitutionto San Bruno. However, the agreement does not settle approximately90 civil lawsuits filed against the company by victims of theexplosion. In addition, the California Public Utilities Commissionvoted to open a top-level legal investigation into whether PG&Ebroke any laws, which could end in hefty fines.

(AP Photo/Michael Sah)

Yellowstone River Oil Spill

Cost: $135 million

On July 1, 2011, an ExxonMobil pipeline running from Silver Tip,MT to Billings ruptured, leaking an estimated 42,000 gallons of oilinto the Yellowstone River. ExxonMobil shelled out an estimated$135 million to clean up the spill and create a new route for thepipeline—a move that was mandated by federal pipelineregulators.

But the repercussions of the spill continue, as a federallawsuit against ExxonMobil is pending from landowners along theriver who accuse the company of a “haphazard, sloppy” cleanup.

(AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Enbridge Oil Spill

Cost: $765 million, plus $3.7 million

On July 25, 2010, a 40-foot-long pipe segment of the EnbridgeEnergy pipeline in Michigan ruptured, spilling in excess of 1million gallons of crude oil originating from Canada into theTalmadge Creek in Calhoun County, Mich. The oil covered a 25-milestretch of the Kalamazoo River before it was contained.

Cleanup costs were originally estimated at $5 million. However,by summer 2012, actual cleanup expense totaled $765 million. Inaddition, this past summer the U.S. Department of Transportationfined Enbridge $3.7 million, listing 22 probable violations thathappened related to the spill.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Cost: $27 billion (and counting)

Settlement numbers for BP Plc in relation to the April 2010Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico continueto climb. Last month, a U.S. judge accepted a guilty plea of $4billion. As of November, BP had already paid $23 billion in cleanupcosts and claims.

The explosion of the rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11workers. The mile-deep Macondo oil well then spewed 4.9 millionbarrels of oil into the Gulf over 87 days, affecting shorelinesfrom Texas to Florida.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Fukushima Daiichi NuclearDisaster

Cost: N/A

Following a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan back inMarch 2011, a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, andreleases of radioactive materials occurred at the Fukushima NuclearPower Plant. In this photo taken on the day of the naturaldisaster, the access road at the compound of Fukushima Daiichi isflooded as the tsunami hit the facility. A few of the plant'sworkers were severely injured or killed by flooding and otherdisaster conditions. There were no immediate deaths due to directradiation exposures, but at least six workers have exceededlifetime legal limits for radiation, and more than 300 havereceived significant radiation doses. The contamination from thedisaster covers about 100 square miles, which is still beingcleaned up.

Investigations have concluded that the disaster was a man-madedisaster that could have been prevented. Japan's parliament isbeing urged to take action against the plant for the damagecaused.

(AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co.)