At this point, quibbling about whose fault it was, is not very productive. However, there is fault for not cleaning the thing up, and closing it....and the figured are much higher than reported, on here. Also, the pipe is a 20" diameter pipe, two inches thick. One half of the pipe is reported to have worn away. Crude oil has particulates and aggregates in it. When the Alaskan pipeline was shut down for repairs, it was worn down, to 1/2 its thickness. It took 30 years to do that...this one took only less than two months!

Also, 14% toxicity, in the air, with these toxins is fatal...we are at 8%, at present...which is making people sick(head aches, nausea, dizziness etc etc.

for the benefit of my Mudcat buddies, and (name callers), if you have friends or relatives near the area, you might give them a buzz, and tell them to calmly, and thoughtfully, get the hell away from there!

I've got more...but not for stupid arguments.
Just for the sake of a side note, I think the President has not been very Presidential about this, and looks way worse than Bush, during Katrina!...and has foolishly politicized this, instead of doing everything he could/can to get it stopped!

The longer he sits on his hands, and "not wasting a crisis", the wider the hole gets!

When they drill for oil, they often pump water into the void, as not to cause a collapse, from the umbrage. This is not being done, of course, which is going to be of another concern.

Also, the gasses, are a lot more than methane, as being reported!

GfS