Exxon Valdez
When the average person thinks of ocean oil spills, the one that usually comes to mind is the Exxon Valdez. Several years after the spill, the Exxon company sent a free video tape called "Scientists and the Alaskan Oil Spill" to every science teacher in the United States. As you might expect, it was a classic 'propaganda video". Before watching it, we need to get the facts.
Read the paragraph below for a brief overview of what happened.The Alaska oil pipeline had always been a controversial project. It required a special act of congress to allow its construction to begin. The oil shocks of the mid-1970s added impetus to the construction, but in March of 1989, the worst fears of its opponents came to pass when the super tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground.
At 9:12pm on March 22, the Exxon Valdez under the command of Captain Joseph Hazelwood left the Alyeska terminal and headed out of Prince William Sound. As is normal in such waters she carried a harbor pilot who was familiar with the waters, but dropped the pilot at 11:24. The ship then proceeded into the Valdez Arm. Like highways on land, the channel had specified lanes for inbound and outbound traffic. The Exxon Valdez requested and received permission to move from the outbound to the inbound lane to avoid ice that was in the outbound part of the channel. At this point, the third mate was in command of the bridge and the captain had gone below to complete some paperwork. The ship was now heading directly for Bligh Reef. If all had gone according to plan, the ship would have made a turn that would have brought it back into the Valdez Arm and avoided the reef. Unfortunately, the ship failed to make the turn in time and at approximately 12:11 on March 24; she ran aground on the reef and began leaking her cargo of crude oil. Before the leak was stopped she had dumped eleven million gallons of crude into the sound. Alyeska's response to the spill was less than spectacular. Its own plan called for it to respond to such an emergency within two to five hours. The first Alyeska's crews weren't on the scene for nearly fifteen. When they did arrive, they were without much vital equipment. They had no containment booms, and no oil recovery barge. As the investigation into the accident progressed, it became clear that there were many factors that led to the accident or made it worse. There were allegations that Captain Hazelwood was under the influence of alcohol and the third mate was unqualified to pilot in Prince William Sound. Exxon was cited for the cost cutting measure of reducing tanker crews from twenty to sixteen, which increased crew fatigue. Alyeska's response, also the result of cost cutting measures, was also cited as inadequate. Regulators were also shown to have failed. Throughout the 1980s, the Environmental Protection Agency had been hampered by political controversy at the top and inadequate funding which caused it to abrogate much of its responsibility to the State of Alaska. The state obtained a large portion of its revenue from the oil industry so they were hesitant to do anything that might jeopardize those funds. The Coast Guard had also been subject to tighter budgets and was forced to concentrate much of its resources to southern waters to fight the war on drugs.
Go the links below to get some pictures of the spill:
Now its time to take at look at how the area where the spill happened is recovering. Browse through the sites above and try to answer the following questions:
1. To what degree have various forms of wildlife recovered ?
2. What is the water quality like now?
3.What impact has the spill had on the local economy?