Exxon Mobil Currently Vacuuming Up Oil Spill In Louisiana, 80,000 Gallons Lost
Exxon Mobil Corp. is being forced to vacuum up more than 80,000 gallons of oil that has spilled in rural Louisiana. The oil spill occurred after a pipeline ruptured in the area.
According to Exxon officials the pipeline was shut down on Saturday night shortly after engineers noticed a drop in pressure coming from the pipeline. The oil spill was later discovered on Sunday in Pointe Coupee Parish, an area located to the northwest of Baton Rouge.
To soak up the oil Exxon Mobil sent in vacuum trucks to clean up the site and experts have been on the scene to monitory air quality.
The company doesn’t know what caused the 22-inch pipeline to leak but they report that no injuries have been reported at this time.
The pipeline originates in St. James Parish and extends all the way to northern Louisiana.
After discovering the leak Exxon Mobil notified federal regulators who are now helping coordinate the cleanup effort with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
While not as big of a disaster as the recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico the accident will likely stoke President Obama’s fire regarding the Keystone pipeline which the President recently vetoed over various concerns including the pipelines ability to safely carry oil over long distances.
To put this oil spill into perspective, Exxon Mobil has lost nearly 1,900 barrels of oil while last July the Exxon’ Silvertip pipeline spilled nearly 1,000 barrels of oil into the Yellowstone River in Montana that that spill cost the company $135 million clean up costs were added into the equation.
