NATION IN BRIEF : ALASKA : Pipeline Corrosion Claim to Be Checked

Two small sections of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline will be dug up to check claims that corrosion flaws were covered up earlier this year. Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. will begin the work next week if the company can quickly find a contractor acceptable to the state and to federal agencies, a company spokeswoman said. The decision to dig comes a week after a former employee of an Alyeska contractor claimed that his employer falsified corrosion detection tests and tolerated widespread drug use among employees working on the pipeline.