BREAKING: BP's Methanol Spill In Alaska
As much as 4,200 gallons of production fluids spilled in North Slope, Alaska during the weekend of July 16 and 17.
According to the AP, pipes located under a road burst after workers conducted a valve test, spilling its contents into nearby gravel, tundra and soil. Officials are currently investigating what went wrong at the site.
John Ebel, a State of Alaska Environmental Program specialist emergency responder, told The Huffington Post the spill consists of 60 percent methanol and 40 percent "produced fluids" that are associated with oil production -- including crude oil.
Tom DeRuyter, state on-scene coordinator for the Department of Environmental Conservation, told Reuters the contents of the spill can be harmful to the area's fragile ecosystem.
"You have actively growing plants and they're very susceptible to the contaminants," he said.
The Anchorage Daily News reports that 630 gallons of the spill have been collected.
