Leaks

Last Jan. 21 started off worse than most Mondays for workers at Vista Chemicals Inc., one of a dozen chemical factories that sprout from the industrial flatlands south of Baton Rouge, La. A rupture disc on a Vista reactor pipe blew loose under pressure at 7:45 a.m., and more than 800 pounds of methyl chloride gas, a narcotic and irritant, wafted into the air before workers could shut down the line and stop the leak. Vista's misery had plenty of company.

Federal safety officials have launched an investigation into reports that problems with gas tanks on more than 3 million Jeep Grand Cherokees could cause fuel leaks and fires in some crashes. The government probe involves possible defects in the sport utility vehicles from the 1993 to 2004 model years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The action is the first step in determining whether a recall is needed. The advocacy group Center for Auto Safety called for the investigation in October, alleging that the placement of the Grand Cherokee's plastic fuel tank behind the rear axle and below the rear bumper allowed for the possibility of tank ruptures, fuel spills and tank detachment during rear-end collisions and rollovers.

The federal government is worried about a substance seeping near BP's sealed oil well, and is demanding that the company intensely monitor the Gulf of Mexico sea bed and be prepared to reopen the well at a moment's notice if new oil leaks spring up around the wellhead. The demands were included in a letter written by Thad Allen, the federal oil-spill response chief, to BP Chief Managing Director Bob Dudley late Sunday evening. Allen gave the company until 9 p.m. Eastern Time to respond to them.

The frustration was obvious on Randy (Cowboy) Leaks' face after his third pro loss Thursday night at the El Cortez Convention Center. But it probably didn't come close to matching that on the faces of his trainers, Abel Sanchez and Orlin Norris Sr. Leaks, a former professional rodeo rider, was bothered by his sluggish performance against Donald Stephens of Las Vegas but even more bothered by referee Earnie Swaile's decision to stop his fight at 2:31 of the second in the scheduled six-rounder.

A mysterious smell drifted slowly from the South Bay area as far east as Redlands on Wednesday afternoon, but officials said they had no idea what it was or where it originated. County fire officials first suspected a major natural gas leak, but Peter Hidalgo, a spokesman for Southern California Gas Co., said a systemwide check showed no leaks. Hidalgo said the smell probably came from a refinery, but no leaks were reported. The odor was first reported about 2 p.m.

The latest in a wave of water main breaks occurred Saturday afternoon on Avenida de Santa Ynez. Los Angeles firefighters responded and crews cleared the scene in about 20 minutes. There were no reports of road closures or flooded buildings. "This sounds, at least initially, that it's nothing out of the ordinary," said L.A. Department of Water and Power spokesman Joe Ramallo. The break follows an upswing in major leaks in the city's water system. Officials scrambled for possible explanations, but said earlier this week that the rash of pipe ruptures appears to have eased, with fewer than 20 leaks this month.

Your editorial (Dec. 20), "Honor and Dishonor," was really simplistic and off the mark. You state that lie detector tests are unreliable, and that the mind-set underlying the President's order to administer them is shabby and squalid, and then you conclude that the government is reckless to employ the polygraph and forfeits the respect of decent citizens. Poppycock. Hasn't the country been badly served by government employees who recklessly release sensitive if not confidential pieces of information?

Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh denied Sunday that the Justice Department has targeted Democrats for investigation and defended his agency against charges of politicization, saying: "We will investigate Republicans or Democrats . . . make no mistake about that." Thornburgh, speaking on CBS-TV's "Face the Nation," refused to talk about an FBI inquiry regarding Rep. William H. Gray III (D-Pa.), who is seeking his party's third-ranking post in the House, but insisted that the Justice Department had not singled out Democrats for scrutiny.