The river water is stained black with oil and polluted

DLNews Staff:

It's a crime against nature! In the US state of Kansas, more than two million liters of crude oil have apparently spilled through a leak in a pipeline. The poisonous liquid flowed straight into a small river, the smelly carpet turning the water black.

Unbelievable: The oil would have been enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool completely! According to the Canadian operating company TC Energy, the leak was discovered on Wednesday. Accordingly, the Keystone Pipeline, which runs from Canada to Illinois, Texas, and Oklahoma, was shut down immediately.

An improvised "emergency dam" is designed to help limit the damage

To limit the damage, a mound of earth was built to stop the oil spill. A statement on Friday said the oil spill had been contained. Still, the Environmental Protection Agency warned that people and animals shouldn't come into contact with the water.

The economic damage is enormous, as is the damage to the environment. Environmental activists say it is the largest disaster in the United States since 2013. The conservationists criticize that the pressure within the Keystone pipeline can be higher than usual with a special permit. According to information from the AP news agency, this was also the case in the affected section.

It wasn't the first accident at a problem pipeline.

Could the natural disaster have been avoided? The US Environmental Protection Agency is still looking for the cause. But the accident was not an isolated case! An official report stated that 22 leaks had been reported since the plant was commissioned twelve years ago. However, most of these were minor incidents where "only" a few thousand liters were spilled. Oil companies worth billions, politicians, and activists have long been arguing about expanding the pipeline.

Although the oil slick only spread to about 400 meters and no one was hurt, the current oil spill could mean that the Keystone pipeline would be restricted or even shut down. "I am closely monitoring this situation to learn more about this recent oil spill and ways to prevent future releases. And thereby protecting public safety and the environment," Congressman Donald Payne Jr. (Democrat, 63) tweeted.

The clean-up should be completed next week, but the (further) loss of face of the oil companies will remain.