UPDATE:
The area surrounding a natural gas pipeline in Olpe, KS, which was covered in black, oily residue, is still in the process of being cleaned up.
The accident occurred last Thursday as maintenance crews for Panhandle Eastern Pipeline were cleaning the structure, which runs from Texas to Michigan. Natural gas condensate, a black, oily byproduct spewed from the pipeline and onto nearby crops and trees.
“When it gets on vegetation, it acts like natural gas would on vegetation," Sara Belfry of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said. "It prevents oxygen from entering the plant - which is why you see a lot of vegetation dying in that area.”
KDHE is overseeing the cleanup. Belfry says they are still not sure how much was spilled, but that Panhandle Eastern Pipeline has hired an outside company to remove the substance. The company is assuming responsibility for any damage.
12:02 PM
TUE JUNE 24, 2014
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State health officials have been at the site of an accident along an eastern Kansas natural gas pipeline that spewed a natural gas cloud that left a dark, oily residue over now withering crops and trees.
The Emporia Gazette reports the incident Thursday along a Panhandle Eastern pipeline near Olpe occurred as crews were trying to perform pipeline maintenance. Residents reported seeing a dark, oily plume burst from the line and spread across nearby fields and yards.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says the substance released was natural gas condensate. Natural gas condensate can come in various compositions, but typically contains benzene, a known carcinogen.
KDHE spokeswoman Sara Belfry says she doesn't know how much condensate was released, but that KDHE crews are assessing the situation.
