Pipeline Rupture Causes Oil Spill in Yellowstone River, Montana!
Recent times have witnessed quite a lot of pipeline accidents despite the lately amended pipeline safety bill. Even before the scars of the Gulf oil spill could start fading away from the US coast, another major oil spill broke out in Montana on July 1st, adding to the woes.
The reason for the Montana oil spill is stated as the rupture of an ExxonMobil pipeline that carries crude oil from Belfry, Montana to the company’s refinery situated in Billings. However, the cause for the rupture still remains a mystery. When asked about this oil pipeline accident, Pam Malek, the company spokeswoman said that the pipe broke out just before midnight and leaked huge barrels of oil for half an hour continuously until it was shut down. Before the company officials could figure out the actual estimation of the Montana oil spill, the situation worsened as the oil spread beyond the river’s banks. However, a rough estimation has been made and reported that about 42,000 gallons of crude oil was spilt into the river.
Over hundreds of people residing along a 32km stretch were evacuated for the fear of potential explosions and intense fumes engulfing the area. But, they were asked to return to their homes when the fumes got reduced considerably.
This pandemonium wouldn’t have occurred if the safety measures were intact. However, the ExxonMobil Pipeline Company has deeply regretted for this pipeline accident and has deployed many crews to clean up the mess. While the cleanup of the spill in itself is a herculean task, the flooding of the river further added to the woes.
Even though boomers and various absorbent materials were used to prevent the spread of this spill, they did not manage do it. There were instances where the oil just flowed from beneath the booms and resulted in the oil spreading further out in the river. This is a common scenario with most oil spills. On the other hand, usage of green oil spill removers like Oil Gone Easy Marine S-200 in such cases can not only help prevent the spill from spreading, but will also get rid of the oil completely.
Image credit:??Montana Oil Spill
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