Cancer-causing agent detected in Montana water after pipeline spill

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.

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 near the North Dakota border, officials said.

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 12-inch pipeline owned by Wyoming-based Bridger Pipeline Co.

Representatives from Montana and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said preliminary tests did not show cause for concern but additional tests ordered after residents complained of a petroleum- or diesel-like smell from their tap water revealed the benzene.

Wesley Henderson, a 36-year-old oilfield worker, said he bought 5 gallons of water after his wife noticed a strange odor coming from their tap water. An advisory against ingesting water from the city’s treatment plant was issued late Monday.

“It sucks,” Henderson said Tuesday. “I didn’t find out about the advisory until after I’d been drinking it. My stomach hurt all day yesterday. I don’t know if that was just in my mind.”