Alaska Oil Pipeline Faces Big Scrutiny After Small Spill

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which transports crude oil from the largest reserve in the United States to a navigable port, is in trouble.

Fuel company BP brought production at the Prudhoe Bay oil field to a screeching halt last week following discovery of pipe corrosion that led to a small spill.

The announcement, which comes on the heels of the system's largest spill ever last March, has triggered a new round of debate over the aging pipeline's future.

It is no surprise that BP has had another accident on the North Slope. There have been 500 spills per year since 1996, said Eleanor Huffines, Alaska regional director for the Washington, D.C.-based Wilderness Society.