6 Years After Exxon’s Oil Pipeline Burst in an Arkansas Town, a Final Accounting
ran her errands, ExxonMobil’s Pegasus pipeline, which ran beneath this
small town, burst without warning along a defective 22-foot seam,
spewing 210,000 gallons of heavy Canadian crude oil diluted with large
quantities of harmful solvents onto quiet residential streets.
Hundreds of people in this working class community of about 2,000
near Little Rock reported being sickened by an odor that was almost
thick enough to feel. Residents soon began to complain about grinding
headaches, diarrhea, swollen eyes, dry heaves and burning lungs.