Increased contamination found in Druzhba pipeline

An increased level of contamination was measured in the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline bringing oil from Russia to central Europe, news agency CTK quoted Czech Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlicek as saying on Monday.

The agency said the contamination was detected on the Slovakia-Ukraine border and that oil flowing further west into the Czech Republic was clean at the moment.

Officials at the Slovak pipeline company Transpetrol were not immediately available for comment.