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Cancer-causing agent detected in water after pipeline spill

Cleanup workers cut holes into the ice on the Yellowstone River near Crane, Mont. on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 as part of efforts to recover oil from an upstream pipeline spill that released up to 50,000 gallons of crude. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
Cleanup workers cut holes into the ice on the Yellowstone River near Crane, Mont. on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 as part of efforts to recover oil from an upstream pipeline spill that released up to 50,000 gallons of crude. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) Cleanup workers cut holes into the ice on the Yellowstone River near Crane, Mont. on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 as part of efforts to recover oil from an upstream pipeline spill that released up to 50,000 gallons of crude. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

By Associated Press 1 min read

GLENDIVE, Mont. (AP) – A cancer-causing component of oil has been detected in the drinking water supply of an eastern Montana city just downstream from a crude oil spill that entered the Yellowstone River.

Officials say elevated levels of benzene were found in samples taken from a water treatment plant that serves about 6,000 people in the agricultural community of Glendive.

Truckloads of bottled water were expected to be brought in Tuesday, and residents were warned not to drink or cook with water from their taps.

Up to 50,000 gallons of oil spilled Saturday from a break in a pipeline owned by Wyoming-based Bridger Pipeline Co.

Scientists from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the elevated amounts of benzene are above the levels recommended for long-term consumption but don’t pose a short-term health hazard.