ExxonMobil boosts clean-up efforts of Yellowstone spill

Jul 5, 2011, 10:43 GMT

Washington - ExxonMobil Corp Monday boosted its clean-up crew to 200 to mop up an oil spill in the pristine Yellowstone River in the western state of Montana as the first wildlife impacts were reported.

More than 100,000 litres of crude oil have leaked into the Yellowstone River. Cleanup activities were already under way in the first 32 km downstream, and were expanded with the arrival of another 80 workers on Monday, ExxonMobil said.

Exxon said in an e-mail that it was evaluating the situation along more than 200 kilometres further downstream. Wildlife recovery teams, such as one from the International Bird Rescue centre, were to arrive in the course of Monday to start rescue efforts.

One local resident told the Billings (Montana) Gazette that she had seen wild geese unable to take off because of oil-slicked feathers.

More than 250 kilometres of the river near famous Yellowstone National Park have been affected by the spill. ExxonMobil spokeswoman Claire Hassett told the German Press Agency dpa that the park itself had not yet been affected.

ExxonMobil said about 1,000 barrels - more than 100,000 litres - of oil leaked from a transport pipe starting Friday. The pipe has been closed down.

Yosemite National Park, the oldest in the United States, lies about 50 kilometres southwest of the oil spill.

Cleanup crews have deployed more than 10,000 metres of boom to isolate the oil and 2,3000 absorbent pads to soak up oil that has leaked to areas alongside of the river.

But residents and local wildlife experts told the Billings Gazette that the river, swollen with spring flooding, was moving too fast for the booms to catch the slick.

The pipeline carries oil from Canada and the US state of Wyoming to a refinery in Billings, Montana, and runs underneath the river. Officials had not yet determined the cause of the leak, which occurred in a 280-m section of pipe buried about 2 to 3 metres under the river.