Costly spill

AN OIL spill from an ageing section of theNurlino-Novosibirsk pipeline, runningalong the Belaya river in the Russianregion of Bashkortostan, which was earlier thought to be of meagre dimensions, is now assuming gigantic proportions. While it was believed that theleak, which was discovered just beforethe New Year, could be contained, ithas already wreaked havoc in the villages adjoining the southern Ural mountains by contaminating their water supply.

Workers equipped with oil-clearing devices appeared to be fighting a losing battle as the oil spill threatened tomove under the ice of the Belaya riverwhich could lead to the contaminationof the mighty Volga river. The leak hasturned the spotlight on Russia'sabysmal state of pipeline systems. Thepost-Soviet era has seen Russia'soil production being split between 16companies with poor investment inthe maintenance of pipelines andequipment.