Workers cleaning up oil spill in Nikiski

A corroded Unocal Alaska Corp. pipeline in the Swanson River oil field has spilled at least 60,000 gallons of water and crude, but the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation spill cleanup coordinator said there was little chance the oil would present a long-term problem.

Water makes up 95 percent of the spill. Most of the oil is trapped in the water, which froze as it leaked from the pipe, said Brad Hahn, the DEC’s spill coordinator.

The leaking pipe, which connects an oil well to a storage tank east of Nikiski, was discovered Jan. 6 by an off-duty Unocal employee. Unocal said the pipe was one of the original gathering lines laid down when the field began production more than 40 years ago.

Most of the cleanup was completed within a week, the contaminated snow and soil taken to a lined landfill Unocal operates in the area.

The Associated Press contributed to this article