LANSING, MI (AP)-- Michigan's health agency says there's no long-term health risk from swimming and fishing in the Kalamazoo River, the site of one of the costliest onshore oil spills in U.S. history.
The state Department of Community Health said Wednesday it finalized its public health assessment of the July 2010 incident. A pipeline operated by Enbridge Inc. ruptured and spewed hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties.
The state says there's no long-term harm to people's health from coming into contact with chemicals in the river's surface water during wading, swimming or canoeing. But contact with oil sheen in the river may cause temporary effects such as skin irritation.
The state also says oil-related chemicals levels in fish are very low.