Feds Find Safety Problems with Trans-Alaska Pipeline

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The U.S. Department of Transportation has found serious safety problems with the trans-Alaska pipeline.

According to the news agency Reuters, a letter sent by regulators to the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., says a report by the department has found the line appears to have “multiple conditions that pose a pipeline integrity risk to public safety, property or the environment.”

The letter also says internal wall corrosion in the pipeline reaches 80 percent in some areas, and it puts Alyeska on notice that it may soon have to fix the line.

The federal government's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is investigating the pipeline system after a leak last month forced a temporary shutdown.