Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

News

Abuja Tremor: No Foreseeable Harm to the Public – DG NGSA

Worried by the erupted hot molten material suspected to be volcanic magma around Mpape, Katampe community, Abuja on October 3, Director General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Alex Nwegbu, adduced that what occurred at the community was not volcanic, but a high leakage of current that melted a 33 Kilo-volt-ampere (KVA) high tension power line.

Nwegbu, who stated this during a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, said the currents generated so much temperature to the range of between 1000 to 2000 degree centigrade, which was high enough to melt the material upon which the electric pole was founded.

The DG explained that the incident was as a result of an “In-Situ Vitrification of foundation materials used in supporting the 33 Kilo-volt-ampere (KVA) high transmission line.

He assured that preliminary measurements, readings and inspection by the technical team of the NGSA indicated a very limited localized event with no foreseeable harm to the public.

“The result of our investigation shows clearly that it was not a volcanic activity. The high tension leaked currents through the rods used in the construction of the electric pole and it generated so much temperature to the range of between 1600 to 2000 degree centigrade and this was high enough to melt the material upon which the pole was founded.

Nwegbu added that the combustion at the surface was caused by the oxygen in the air, which thereafter cooled rapidly to form a monolithic and chemically inert vitreous slag.

“The discharged molten material emanated at the foot of a short-circuited pole conveying a 33KVA transmission line. The effect of the heat dislodged the foundation of the electric pole causing it to tilt.

This ensuing high temperature caused the vitrification of the In-Situ material at the base of the electric pole to become pyrolyzed into a molten mass, which increased in size and fluidity and eventually found a weak route of escape to the surface,” he added.

 

 

________

Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng

Copyright 2018 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Related

News

Staff of a first-generation bank at Mpape in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are currently being grilled by the police over alleged involvement in...

News

A gang of armed robbers who had embarked on a raid of an old generation bank in Mpape area of the Federal Capital Territory,...

News

The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has installed high sensitivity seismometers and tilet meters for the monitoring and detection of earth movements and...

News

The Federal Government has spent N50million to procure Earthquake Monitoring Seismograms to enable it fully monitor ground disturbances in Nigeria. Director General of Nigerian...

Copyright ©