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Sunday July 11, 9:55 pm Eastern Time

Whistleblowers warn of Alaska oil disaster - paper

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Six senior employees of an Alaskan oil pipeline company have warned that a far worse ecological disaster than the Exxon Valdez catastrophe 10 years ago could occur at any time, the Guardian reported on Monday.

The newspaper said the whistleblowers from the Alyeska company running the 800-mile (1,280 km) trans-Alaska pipeline had written to BP Amoco (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BPA.L) and three U.S. Congressmen saying there was an imminent threat to human life and the environment.

A BP Amoco spokeswoman told Reuters: ``I cannot comment on it because we have not had any letter.''

The Guardian said the letter from the six, whom it did not identify, contained evidence of compliance failures and other serious charges.

The whistleblowers feared a possible rupture of the ageing pipeline or an explosion at the Valdez oil tanker terminal, the newspaper said.

``It's not a matter of if it is going to happen, it's when it is going to happen,'' it quoted one of them as saying.

BP Amoco owns 50 percent of Alyeska, which operates both installations on its behalf.

The Guardian said the whistleblowers, all senior employees on the 22-year-old Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, had provided it with evidence of compliance failures and other charges.

On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck a reef in Prince William Sound that ripped open its hull, spilling 11 million gallons of oil into one of the world's most bountiful ecosystems.

The spill killed more wildlife than any other environmental disaster.

At least 3,500 sea otters, 200 harbour seals, 14 killer whales and 350,000 birds died. It devastated fish populations and coated 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of shoreline.

In October 1991, a week before the start of jury selection, Exxon (NYSE:XON - news) agreed to pay a record settlement of $1.1 billion, 97 percent of which went toward clean-up and restoration efforts.

Commercial fishing, one of Alaska's biggest and most vital industries, has suffered in Prince William Sound since the spill due the decline in fish populations.

Bob Malone, president of Alyeska Pipeline Service Co, told the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce on March 8 that the company had made dramatic reforms in its oil spill prevention and response programmes.

``We're not the company that we were 10 years ago,'' he said.

Alyeska was criticised for an inadequate and disorganised response to the Exxon Valdez grounding.

It is owned by seven oil companies, the major ones being BP Amoco, Exxon and Atlantic Richfield (NYSE:ARC - news). Phillips Petroleum (NYSE:P - news), Mobil (NYSE:MOB - news), Unocal (NYSE:UCL - news) and Amerada Hess (NYSE:AHC - news) own minor shares.

-- Mike Lang (webflier@erols.com), July 11, 1999

Answers

So VERY glad we chose solar over fossil fuel! Whistleblowers had better get pumped up real fast.

This is *JULY 1999*

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), July 12, 1999.

Having workded on the Alyeska pipeline for about 4 years I can, without reservation, say that those are the most safety conscious people I know. This is not one of those blanket knee-jeck defenses.

I've worked a lot of places. None like Alyeska when it comes to safety. I've been gone a gew years now but friends who still work there tell me things have not changed. If anything safety considerations have increased.

I have some small "inside" knowledge of some of the former whistle- blower situations - not the current. Generally some fire is at the bottom of most smoke. But in the situations I know of the fire was indeed very small, non-threatning, and extinguished long before it became public. Alyeska Pipeline draws a lot of attention due to it's unique position and exposure.

Again, they are the most safety conscious people I know.

-Greybear

-- Got extra motor oil?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), July 12, 1999.