Oil firm attacked over pipeline leak

As the firm intensified its clean-up of tens of thousands of gallons of spilled crude, Exxon Mobil Pipeline president Gary Pruessing pledged to do “whatever is necessary” to find and mop up oil from the 12ins pipeline that broke at the bottom of the river over the weekend.

The company had earlier downplayed assertions from state and government officials that damage from the spill was spread over dozens of miles, drawing sharp criticism from Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, who planned to tour the damaged areas yesterday.

But company officials said their statements were misconstrued and Mr Pruessing promised that crews would begin walking the Yellowstone shoreline as soon as the flooding river receded to look for pooled oil along the banks.

“We’re not limiting the scope of our clean-up to the immediate site,” he said at a news conference along the river near Laurel, as crews mopped up oil in the background. “We are not trying to suggest in any way that that’s the limit of exposure.”

Underscoring rising anger over the spill among some riverfront property owners, Mr Pruessing was confronted after his news conference by a goat farmer and environmental activist who said his partner was made ill by oil fumes and had to be taken to hospital.

“I need to know what we’ve been exposed to. People are sick now,” Mike Scott said. Mr Scott’s partner, Alexis Bonogofsky, was diagnosed yesterday with acute hydrocarbon exposure after she experienced dizziness, nausea and trouble breathing, he said.

Mr Pruessing said air and water monitoring had not revealed any health risks but he told Mr Scott the company would provide the public with more information.