Trans-Alaska pipeline
In October 2001, American news agencies and
specialised bulletins devoted numerous pages to an exceptional event:
the perforation of a pipeline transporting crude oil from Prudhoe
Bay to the port of Valdez by a bullet hole.
This was not the first time such an incident had occurred. There
have been around fifty known cases of angry or inebriated gunmen
targeting the pipeline, without ever actually piercing it. However
one bullet hole was enough to cause significant damage. The hole
was scarcely 1.2 cm in diameter, but it was positioned just
above a valve and at the bottom of a hill. The oil spurted out under
pressure, to over 20 metres, and took two days to stem using a watertight
clamp.
In total, 970 tonnes of crude oil were released over a hectare of
tundra. The response involved 200 people and considerable resources
for initial clean-up, which was completed in the spring after the
thaw. The person responsible was severely fined.
Name: Trans-Alaska pipeline
Date: 4 October 2001
Location: USA
Accident area: Alaska
Cause of spill: bullet hole shot in pipeline
Type of pollutant: crude oil
Quantity spilled: 970 tonnes
Structure type: pipeline
Last update: April 2006