Russian Oil Spill Hard To Control

Oil that leaked from an aging pipeline has polluted the drinking water supply of dozens of villages in the southern Ural Mountains, a news agency reported Monday.

The spill is difficult to control because it is moving under the ice of the Belaya River, the ITAR-Tass news agency said. But if it is not stopped, the oil could reach the larger Kama River and possibly even the Volga River, Russia’s main north-south waterway.

At least 30,000 gallons leaked last week from a section of the Nurlino-Novosibirsk pipeline about 15 yards from the Belaya River.

Workers were slow to react because the leak took place during Russia’s long New Year holiday. Work was further delayed when British-made oil-collection machinery failed to operate in the severe winter weather.

On Monday, workers set up new barriers along the river to catch the oil, the report said.