Exxon, EPA say air quality at spill in Arkansas improving

Exxon, EPA say air quality at spill in Arkansas improving Thu, Apr 04 19:12 PM EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Air quality in the Arkansas neighborhood where an Exxon Mobil Corp pipeline leaked thousands of barrels of Canadian crude has improved but was still unhealthy where workers were cleaning it up, the company and the U.S. environment regulator said on Thursday. Readings of air quality "are below levels likely to cause health effects for the general population with the exception of the cleanup areas where the emergency responders are directly working," the Environmental Protection Agency said. "As cleanup continues, contaminant levels continue to decrease," it said. Exxon has been digging out oil-soaked lawns and replacing them with fresh sod in the neighborhood in Mayflower, Arkansas, where the government estimated up to 5,000 barrels of Canadian crude leaked on Friday. The Pegasus line, which can transport more than 90,000 barrels per day of Canadian crude to Texas from Illinois, remained shut with no estimate of when it would restart. Exxon said its data showed levels of benzene, a component of crude linked to cancer, had fallen in days following the leak. On Sunday benzene had been detected 10 times in the area where workers are cleaning up the crude, with the highest concentration recorded at 0.8 parts per million. By Tuesday, benzene was detected three times in the work area with the highest level at 0.3 ppm. Monitors detected that instances of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are linked to ear and throat irritation and kidney and liver damage, had also fallen. Exxon data detected VOCs 43 times on Sunday. By Tuesday that had fallen to 35 instances. Twenty-two homes were evacuated by authorities after the leak and residents had not returned by Thursday. Workers cleaning up the spill were using breathing equipment where necessary, the EPA said. Residents in the area surrounding the spill had complained of a strong asphalt odor in the days after the leak. That odor has died down considerably since Monday, residents said on Thursday. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Additional reporting by Edward McAllister in Mayflower, Arkansas; Editing by Eric Beech) =========== UPDATE 1-CP Rail says 400 barrels of oil spilled in Ontario, not four Thu, Apr 04 16:49 PM EDT * CP raises oil spill estimate to 400 bbls from 4 bbls * Size of spill not apparent initially, spokesman says * CP says spill has been contained * Rail line to re-open later on Thursday * Shares fall 0.7 pct By Scott Haggett and Allison Martell April 4 (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd raised its estimate of the amount of oil spilled in a derailment in northern Ontario a hundred-fold on Thursday, and said 400 barrels (16,800 gallons) had leaked from two tanker cars, up from its initial estimate of four barrels. CP Rail spokesman Ed Greenberg said the size of Wednesday's spill, the company's second in a week, was not evident when crews first arrived at the remote site of the derailment near White River, Ontario, about 700 kilometers (400 miles) northeast of Toronto. "During the clean-up yesterday our crews discovered the second derailed car containing oil had in fact lost product," Greenberg said. "The second car was difficult to assess due to its position among the derailed equipment but showed no signs of the product around its base during the initial assessments." A boom in North American oil production has prompted a huge rise in crude-by-rail transport as output has outgrown the existing pipeline network. CP's spills over the past week have highlighted concerns about the environmental impact of rail shipments.

"I think rail is now going to face the same kind of scrutiny that pipelines have come under," said Keith Stewart, a spokesman for Greenpeace Canada. "Rail used to be pretty inconsequential in terms of moving oil, but we've seen rapid growth in the last three years and they're projecting massive growth. I think the industry has rose-colored glasses on if they think that they can ramp up moving oil by rail, the way they're talking about, without running into big opposition."

The new estimate puts the size of the northern Ontario spill above that of last week's CP derailment in Minnesota, where about 15,000 gallons, or 360 barrels, leaked from three tank cars. But the two leaks are far smaller than last week's pipeline breach in Mayflower, Arkansas, in which an aging Exxon Mobil Corp pipeline broke and sent up to 5,000 barrels flooding through suburban streets. The Ontario derailment came early on Wednesday, when 20 cars on an eastbound, mixed-freight train bound for Montreal left the tracks. CP, Canada's second largest railroad, said it was still investigating the cause of the accident, but that it expected the track to re-open later on Thursday. Greenberg said the spill has been contained and no oil has been found beyond its containment berms. CP shares fell 84 Canadian cents to C$121.67 on Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.