The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has just released an
updated estimate of the total quantity of oil spilled in the leak discovered on March 2. Their report shows that more than 200,000 gallons of oil has leaked so far.
More news below the fold:
From today's story in the
Anchorage Daily News, "To date, workers have recovered 52,920 gallons or 1,260 barrels of crude. The effort has been slowed in recent days by wind-chilled temperatures that dipped to more than 70 degrees below zero."
The reason for the spill is believed to be internal corrosion in a 34" pipe. This is not the Trans-Alaska Pipeline; rather, it's a smaller supply line for a North Slope processing station. "The plant, 650 miles north of Anchorage, usually processes 100,000 barrels of oil daily slightly less than 10 percent of the daily flow through the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline. For now, a six-inch pipeline is being used for production of 5,000 barrels daily."
The previous record holder was just over 38,000 gallons spilled in 2001.
And, in more good news, an additional spill was discovered today, according to the story linked above. This spill, from a smaller, 24" feeder line has apparently spilled "less that 500 gallons."