Sinkholes. Massive discharges of untreated wastewater. The consequences of pipeline ruptures and breaks can be disastrous.Sewer and water pipelines are vulnerable to faulting, seismic activity and other ground movements, but ongoing research is showing EPS geofoam to be a material with great potential for protecting them.Steven Bartlett, associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Utah, and his team have been examining geofoam’s mitigating effects on pipeline damage due to seismic faulting since 2007. “If an earthquake occurs, pipelines are one of the most important items to protect,” Bartlett says. “For example, if a gas pipeline ruptures and ignites,
