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Fuel Spill in Southern Illinois Nears Paducah

Matt Markgraf, WKMS

A spill in southern Illinois involving more than 48,000 gallons of diesel fuel has spread to the Ohio River. 

Marathon Pipe Line LLC is investigating whether the fuel is from its network and has shut down its Two Rivers pipeline system as a precaution. The pipeline operator says that by this morning, the sheen had spread more than 100 miles to reach Smithland Lock and Dam on the Ohio River near Paducah. Marathon Pipe Line spokesman Shane Pochard says as of this morning divers have not been able to get in the water to investigate the pipelines because the river is at flood stage.  The fuel sheen was first spotted Sunday near Mount Carmel, Illinois, along the Wabash River. The company says there has been no impact to drinking water or wildlife so far. Pochard says the water is constantly being tested. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other government agencies are responding to the spill.

Becca Schimmel is a Becca Schimmel is a multimedia journalist with the Ohio Valley ReSource a collaborative of public radio stations in Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio. She's based out of the WKU Public Radio newsroom in Bowling Green.
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