Reports that would reveal whether Exxon properly maintained its Pegasus pipeline are being kept from the public. The data has national ramifications.
By Elizabeth Douglass and David Hasemyer
Jul 16, 2013
Tar ball on the edge of a cove in Mayflower, Ark. in the wake of Exxon’s Pegasus pipeline spill. Credit: National Wildlife Federation
The 1940s-era construction process that ExxonMobil said caused an oil pipe to rupture in Arkansas earlier this year is a common and well-documented problem the pipeline industry has battled for decades—and one the industry believes can be detected and controlled with appropriate vigilance.