Big brew-ha-ha over an Oil Spill on the north slope of Alaska. The Seattle Times has the story:
Recent oil spill largest ever at Prudhoe Bay
More than 200,000 gallons of crude leaked from a ruptured transit line onto the tundra in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, making the spill discovered earlier this month the largest ever on the North Slope, according to an official estimate released today.
The estimated spill size of 202,000 to 267,000 gallons far surpasses the 38,000 gallons spilled in 2001, officials said. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons when it ran aground in Prince William Sound in 1989.
"I can confirm it's the largest spill of crude oil on the North Slope that we have record of," said Linda Giguere with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. She said the state began comprehensive record keeping on spills 10 years ago, following years of cursory record keeping since the trans-Alaska oil pipeline was built in the 1970s.
A bit more:
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.
"It's a significant spill. The volume is large, but the footprint is small," Giguere said. "It's contained and controlled, which is the really good news. Morale is high, despite the cold temperatures and harsh conditions."
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.
Naturally, the enviros are screaming their little pointy heads off. Let's look at a few facts:
Oil Spill: 220,000 Gallons - Standard Short-Course Swimming Pool**:
330,250 Gallons Oil Recovered so far: 52,920 (about 25%)
Gallons in one barrel of Oil: 42
Gallons per day from the plant: 4,200,000
So you are looking at an amount that is a fraction of the daily output. It was a slow leak (otherwise, they would have caught it and shut the line down immediately) but it was hot oil leaking onto frozen ground and will be very easy to clean up once the weather abates a bit. Another article mentioned that the amount of land affected was under two acres -- this is a square of land 295 feet on each side. Not that big. (One Acre = 43,560 Square Feet)
**The standard short-course swimming pool is what most schools and recreational facilities have, it is 1/2 the length of an Olympic Pool.
