Environmental Case Study the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Ten Years Later

Environmental Case Study The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Ten Years Later

March, 1999

Prince William Sound, Alaska

It was ten years ago on March 23 that the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, leaking 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound and creating the most notorious oil spill in US history. While the spill was a major disaster, it has provided unusual opportunities for scientific research into the aftermath of a major spill. With the tenth anniversary scientists and policy makers are reflecting on what we have learned, and what we still don't know, about responding to oil spills.

Although the Exxon Valdez spill was far from the biggest oil spill in history, and even though it was only one of dozens of major spills that occur every year, this accident gained notoriety because it was the biggest marine spill in US history and because it occurred in the spectacularly scenic Prince William Sound. The area is treasured for its scenic beauty and its wildlife, including sea otters, orcas, and many species of sea birds. Currents carried the oil 500 miles from the wounded tanker, staining 1,400 miles of beaches. At least 300,000 birds and 2,600 otters were killed. Armies of clean-up crews spent over 2 billion dollars blasting beaches with steam cleaners and scrubbing oil from rocks by hand all under extensive national media coverage. Most alarming of all was the discovery that the ship ran aground because the captain was drunk at the helm. The resulting lawsuit dragged out for several years and is still undergoing appeals. Exxon has still not paid damages to plaintiffs in the lawsuits.

Ten years later, Exxon, the corporation that owned the ship, is trumpeting the success of clean- up and pointing to once oily beaches that now show no sign of oil. Likewise, cruise ship operators in the region are very happy with the outcome of a spill. From the deck of a ship, the shore and waters of the

Environmental Case Study The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Ten Years Later sound look serene and pristine, as though the spill never occurred. Furthermore, the notoriety of the Valdez spill has multiplied the number of tourists visiting the region, increasing revenues.

Biologists and sea kayakers, though, have a closer view of the beaches and estuaries, and they see a very different state of affairs. Just below the surface oil and tar still saturate the beaches, and many species have failed to recover or return. While salmon and some birds appear to be recovering, loons, seals, orcas, and some ducks are showing little or no improvement ten years later. Still more disturbing, ecologists studying the area say that in some cases the millions of dollars spent on clean up actually caused more harm than help. Steam-cleaning and pressure washing drove the oil deep into the rocky beaches and killed natural bacteria that could have helped break down oil residues. Birds have yet to return to beaches.

Scientists studying clean-up methods and the effects of the spill have learned a number of important things. To start with, they are reconsidering the effectiveness of human efforts in spill remediation. The $2 billion spent on the Valdez clean up only captured about 15% of the spilled oil. Natural microorganisms and solar energy were probably more effective overall. It appears that hand- cleaning birds and mammals by hand does relatively little good, since the cleaned animals are likely to die after release. Oil exposure also compromises the immune system in young fish, an effect that could significantly impact long-range stability in the salmon fishing industry. Of two dozen species watched by a special monitoring group, only two have recovered in ten years, the bald eagle and river otter. On the other hand, no species in the region have gone extinct, and many appear to be stabilizing. Perhaps the most important lessons are that natural cleanup systems work and that complex ecosystems can be very resilient.

Environmental Case Study The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Ten Years Later

For further information, see these related web sites:

To read more, see

Environmental Science, A Global Concern, Cunningham and Saigo, 5th ed. Map of oil spills worldwide: p. 450 Ocean pollution: pp. 449-50 map of oil fields, showing the trans-Alaska pipeline: 468

Environmental Science, Enger and Smith, 6th ed. Marine oil pollution: pp. 302-02 Energy consumption patterns: pp. 138-42