Environmental Disaster Feared In Russian Oil Spill
Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Foreign Correspondent Moscow, Russia (AHN) - A Russian environment official warned of an environmental catastrophe on Monday as a major oil spill was reported in one of the country's major export pipelines near the border with Ukraine and Belarus. The Russian Natural Resources Ministry spokesman Rinat Gizatulin said the spill had affected some 4 square miles and has already contaminated local water sources and forests in the western province of Bryansk. He said, "Judging by information reaching the ministry from representatives of environmental organizations ... the consequences of the accident may be an environmental catastrophe in the region." But the operator of the pipeline, OAO Transneft, has contested the extent of the spill, claiming it only affected an area of 3,875 square feet and had already been cleaned up. Company spokesman Mikhail Sayapin said, "Now there is no problem." The pipeline runs some 2,485 miles, supplying oil to eastern and central Europe. At its full capacity, it can deliver up to 1.2 million barrels of oil per day.
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