Oil Spills

The oil spill near the town of Usinsk in Northern Russia (Komi
republic) is one of the most serious environmental disasters of the
decade. The pipeline just south of the Arctic Circle had been
leaking since February 1994 but the oil was contained within a dike
built for this purpose. On October 1st, the dike collapsed because
of cold and snow. Following the collapse, around 102,000 tones of
oil began to pour onto the Siberian tundra. The spill reached the
Kolva River, a tributary of the Pechora River, which falls into the
Barents Sea.The ruptured pipeline is the third largest oil spill in
history. Russia has more than a million miles of gas and oil
pipelines, many of them poorly maintained. "Every year, up to a
fifth of Russia's total oil production is lost - partly through
theft, but much of it through leakage". Komineft, the company
responsible for the 20-year-old pipeline, has a history of
accidents caused by age and corrosion. Along the oil pipelines,
which experience hundreds of leaks and breakages each year, the
ground is saturated with oil.

oil spills are one of the most dangerous environmental disasters. I think that governments should pay more attention two their pipelines because when these chemicals leach into the ground it kills all the soil and nothing will grow back there, also when the oil gets into the water it will kill the fish and birds that get in it. personally i think this is a crime, the people that don't make sure that this don't happen should be punished.

http://www.american.edu/ted/KOMI.HTM