40-Year Air Force Fuel Spill Threatens Albuquerque's Water

"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A decades-old jet fuel spill threatening Albuquerque's water supply could be as large as 24 million gallons, or twice the size of the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez, New Mexico environment officials acknowledged Tuesday."



"Officials previously estimated the spill from Kirtland Air Force Base to be about 8 million gallons. But state geologist William Moats, who made the original calculations, recently estimated the spill could be up to three times larger.

By comparison, the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil when it ran aground in Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989."

Jeri Clausing reports for the Associated Press May 23, 2012.

Source: AP, 05/24/2012