US - A violent explosion and fire rocked the TransAlaska Pipeline at Prudhoe Bay last October. Despite the severity of the blast, the incident received scant press coverage outside Alaska.
According to the November 1 Anchorage Daily News, "An explosion and fire ripped through an electrical building at a Prudhoe Bay well site at 1:45 pm Friday, causing extensive damage and a small oil spill but no injuries."
"From all indications, it's not too bad. No oil has hit tundra," said Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation coordinator Ed Meggert. But the facts show a very scary explosion.
The blast severely damaged a building where 10,000 barrels (420,000 gallons) of crude oil was being collected from 30 wells. These wells were immediately shut down while British Petroleum dispatched 75 workers to fight the fire. It took more than 30 minutes to contain the fire and keep it from spreading to other parts of Prudhoe Bay. Smaller fires continued to burn for the next 24 hours.
Preliminary reports indicate that the blast occurred in the building that provides electric power to the wells - one of the danger points revealed by Journal investigator Richard Fineberg [See "The Next Alaska Oil Spill: Will It Take Place on Land?" Summer '98 EIJ] It was not immediately clear how much gas burned or how much oil spilled onto the gravel pad.
For more info: Contact Arctic Action [Northern Alaska Environmental Center, 218 Driveway Street, Fairbanks, AK 99701-2806, (907) 452-5021, fax: (907) 452-3100. www.mosquitonet.com/~naec].
Alaska Pipeline Explosion