The Keystone XL pipeline: Would a catastrophic oil spill be inevitable?

A new study argues that the damage from spills would likely destroy more jobs than the controversial pipeline could ever create

Workers clean up a massive oil spill in Michigan in July 2010: Some researchers say a similar spill would be all but inevitable for Keystone XL.
(Image credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

President Obama's controversial rejection of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast promises to be a contentious issue in this year's presidential election, as Republicans accuse Obama of killing a project that would have created 20,000 badly needed jobs. But a new study by Cornell University's Global Labor Institute is bolstering the position of the pipeline's environmentalist opponents, suggesting that the potential job gains might not be worth the considerable risk of a catastrophic spill. Here's what you should know:

What exactly does the study say?

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