Michigan oil spill caused by 5-foot tear in pipeline

[mike r]

Source: Reuters

Oil that fouled a Michigan river system spewed from a rip less than five feet long in an Enbridge Inc pipeline, a company executive said on Saturday after crews extracted the ruptured piece.

The pipeline, part of Enbridge's system that carries most of Canada's crude oil exports into the United States, ruptured nearly two weeks ago near Marshall, Michigan, and there is still no estimate when it might be restarted.

Looking at the length-wise tear does not provide enough information to determine what caused 800,000 gallons of heavy crude oil to spill into the Kalamazoo River system, said Steve Wuori, president of Enbridge's liquids pipelines division.

Under the watch of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, crews extracted a 50 foot (15 meter) section on Friday and it is being shipped to Washington for analysis, officials said...

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6761EF20100807?type=domesticNews

[DeSwiss]

1. A 5 foot tear in a steel pipeline, that just "happened?"

Right. K&R

[shraby]

2. Who's bright idea was it to run it close enough to a river

that it could end up in the river? Particularly one that runs into Lake Michigan?

[arikara]

3. Enbridge wants to make another pipeline

from the tar sands in Alberta, right across BC to the west coast so that they can ship oil to China. They will be crossing mountains, streams and rivers, throughout pristine unpopulated areas. If/when this line has a rupture there will be no one around to notice it. Not to mention the odds of another Exxon Valdez on our coast from one of the tankers. Filthy greedy money grubbing bastards and the governments who are in their pockets.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. The same engineers that put parts and pieces where no human

hands can go.

[madrchsod]

5. sounds like a seam failure but oil pipe are supposed to be seamless

it could be a pressure failure do to a defect when the pipe was made. it is going to be interesting what the cause is.