Leaking gas line in Verona causes concern for people nearby

VERONA, Pa. — A leaking gas line in Verona is causing concern for people who work nearby.

American Beverage Corporation employee Bernie Collins told Channel 11 that he’s concerned. He says the Peoples Natural Gas line has been leaking for months.

“You’ve got a leaking gas line here that they need to fix before it gets to be a major problem like explodes or something,” Collins told Channel 11.

The gas line runs underneath his company’s plant on Daily Way in Verona.

“We’ve been smelling it since October — September or October of last year,” Collins said.

According to Collins, Peoples came to fix the line in November. But, just days later, he says the smell returned.

“While I’m here at work, I’m breathing in natural gas for eight hours a day, six days a week. It gives me headaches all the time,” Collins said. “I just can’t deal with it anymore.”

Collins says he and fellow employees have called Peoples to express concern but to no avail.

“They’ve [Peoples] been called about five times and every time they come out they say, ‘Yeah, there’s a gas leak, we’ll be back in a week or two,’ and they never show back up and fix it,” Collins explained.

A spokesperson for Peoples told Channel 11 it is aware of the gas leak.

A statement from the company reads, in part, “We have been monitoring it while working to schedule repairs. A One Call (811) has been placed to get all utility lines marked in the area, and we are also coordinating with the business as some of their equipment will need to be relocated in order to perform the work.”

Collins says a Peoples crew was at his company’s plant as recently as last week.

“Monday of last week they showed up and they painted ‘PNG’ for People’s Natural Gas on the ground out here and on the road up there and I have not seen them back out here since,” Collins said.

Peoples Gas encourages anyone who smells gas to contact them at 1-800-400-4271.

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