14 DAY TRIAL // Towards the end of May, the Pegasus pipeline, owned and operated by Exxon Mobil, ruptured and spilled 300,000 gallons of oil in Mayflower, Arkansas.
Recent news on the topic says that, as investigations have shown, the accident must be attributed to a manufacturing fault.
“Based on the metallurgical analysis, the independent laboratory concluded that the root cause of the failure can be attributed to original manufacturing defects — namely hook cracks near the seam.
“Additional contributing factors include atypical pipe properties, such as extremely low impact toughness and elongation properties across the ERW [electric resistance welded] seam.
“There are no findings that indicate internal or external corrosion contributed to the failure,” Exxon Mobil writes in a press release, as cited by Tree Hugger.
Many people fear that the tar sand oil flowing through these pipes is abrasive, and can cause significant wear and tear in time.
Otherwise put, it could make the pipes prone to rupturing and spilling their content.
Thus, the company has a very good reason for wishing to stress the fact that investigators did not find any evidence of corrosion.