Exxon

1
Exxon Valdez

• Marty Tagtow

2
The beginning

• March 24 , 1989 the Exxon Valdez left Alaska
  with a cargo of 53 million gallons of crude oil
  . 6 hours after setting on their route to Los
  Angeles roughly 10.9 million gallons of crude oil
  poured into the ocean.
• (Cleveland,2008)

3
How it happened

• William Murphy was in charge of piloting the ship
  when it left port on March 23, 1989. When in
  route the crew captain encountered ice and
  directed the ship out of the shipping lanes in an
  event to avoid the obstacles. The ship ran a
  ground at Bligh Reef after failing to direct the
  ship back into the shipping lanes. An
  investigation into the wreck shows the crew was
  fatigued, and was receiving an abundant workload.
  They also found that one of the master crew
  members was under the influence of alcohol.
  (Horton,2008)

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The Valdez on Bligh Reef

• At the time of the spill the Valdez was
  encountering a storm producing up to 70 mph
  winds. The particular season they were traveling
  in as a capability of conjuring 18ft high waves.
  This storm aided in the 1100 miles of area that
  the oil was distributed. (Exxon Valdez oil
  spill,2007)

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The spread of the oil days after the wreck.
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One of the Exxon Valdezs victims.

• The place of the spill was the main contributing
  factor to the severity of this disaster. The
  Exxon Valdez spilled its cargo in a area of
  water that was the home to many species of
  wildlife. This spill took the lives of
• 250,000 seabirds
• 2,800 sea otters
• 300 harbor seals
• 250 bald eagles
• 22 killer whales
• Because of the storm and the area the oil spill
  reached a national forest, Three national parks,
  four wildlife refugees, five state parks, four
  critical habitat areas, and a state game
  sanctuary lead to the largest oil spill ever to
  occur in U.S. waters.
• (Horton, 2008)

7
It took the Exxon Company four summers to clean
the spill

• Crude oil pushed onto the shoreline of Prince
  William Sound.

• Oil sheen from the spill

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Cleaning up the largest oil spill in U.S. waters

• Employing high pressure hose to spray down the
  beaches proved to be fruitless. Once a shoreline
  was sprayed down the tide would eventually shift
  and a wave of polluted water would wash the
  beaches down with oil.
• The technique of skimming is the process in which
  a ship drags a device across the water gathering
  the oil was also used. However skimmers were not
  available for the first 24 hours.
• With help from the Coast Guard, EPA
  specialists, ands specialists from the Hubbs
  Marine Institute in San Diego, California it
  costs the Exxon company 1.28 billion
  dollars.(U.S. Environmental protection Agency,
  2009)

9
Beach Washing and Skimming
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Dealing with the aftermath

• The Exxon company deployed a oil spill trustee
  council which determined in 2004 that some fish
  and wildlife has not fully recovered from the
  spill.
• Due to the impacts on the habitat Exxon paid 300
  million to people and businesss affected by the
  spill.
• Exxon has also paid over 1 billion in settlement
  to state and federal governments. The money is
  currently being used to help restore the habitat
  and fund conservation programs of Prince William
  Sound.
• 20 years after the disaster of the Exxon Valdez,
  researchers still find traces of oil from the
  spill.(Kelly , 2002)

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Wildlife today at Prince William Sound

• Harbor Seal

• American Bald Eagle

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Bibliography

• Horton, Jennifer.  "What is the worst
  environmental disaster in history?."  21 April
  2008.  HowStuffWorks.com. lthttp//science.howstuff
  works.com/environmental-disaster.htmgt  07
  September 2009.
• Cleveland, C. J. (2008, August 29). Retrieved
  July 2009, from http//www.eoearth.org/article/Exx
  on_Valdez_oil_spill
• (2009, march 17). Retrieved from U.S
  Environmental Protection Agency
  http//www.epa.gov/oem/content/learning/exxon.htm
• Kelly, Jeffrey R (2001-2002). Prince William
  Sound Paradise Lost? Research Website.
  lt/10867/gt. (Access 2009, August, 12).
• Exxon Valdez oil spill. (2007, November).
  Retrieved from History and facts, Valdez Alaska
  http//www.valdezalaska.org/history/oilSpill.html