The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Back and Beyond

The Bligh Reef located at Prince William Sound in Alaska was struck with one of the worst disasters in naval history on the 24th day of March, 1989 a little while past midnight. With its massive spill of oil amounting to roughly 11 million gallons of crude oil, the task of cleaning what has become the largest spill in American history proved to be an international concern requiring the abilities of nations and international organizations to work together on the goal of cleaning the mess brought by the Exxon Valdez oil spill (Bernard, 1997, p. 78).Even if there was the apparent cooperation among nations and other global organizations, the task of responding to the oil spill was not an easy obstacle to be surpassed. Many factors led to an even more complicated scenario, instances such as the remote location of the spill, the size and scope of the oil scattered across the waters, limited accessibility to other mobile units except for helicopters and marine vessels. With these intricate challenges that beset the cooperating groups, plans of addressing the Exxon Valdez oil spill were put to the ultimate test.

Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker with the predetermined destination at California coming off from a long journey from Alaska specifically from the Valdez oil terminal in the Trans Alaska Pipeline terminal. Guided by a harbor pilot prior to finally leaving the Valdez Narrows, the full control of the tanker was then passed on to the ship master, Captain Joseph Hazelwood. Apparently, the route of the ship was maneuvered away from the shipping lane in order to steer clear of icebergs along the shipping course.Departing the wheel house to proceed to the stateroom, Captain Hazelwood gave the responsibility of maneuvering the wheel back to its original lane at a predetermined point to Third Mate Gregory Cousins and Able Seaman Robert Kagan. Unfortunately, Exxon Valdez was unable to return to its original course.

It hit Bligh Reef less than a day after it left the Valdez oil terminal (Williamson, 1995, p. 47). Beyond the financial losses and litigation issues the Exxon Valdez oil spill has caused, even more problematic are the environmental issues that led to the devastation of marine and land wildlife.The oil spill has also caused severe damage to the environment, covering rocks and land in the coast lines approximately 1,300 miles in length and nearby coastal areas with crude oil, endangering the fishes in the sea as well as the birds and land animals inhabiting the nearby coastal territories. The list of environmental effects of the oil spill have been closely linked to the loss of about 250,000 to half a million of seabirds, less than 300 bald eagles, not more than 350 harbor seals, 22 orcas and close to 5,000 sea otters.

The most immediate consequence of the oil spill is the sudden decrease in the population of these aquatic animals as well as the birds who frequented the Bligh Reef and its neighboring regions for food and shelter (Lee, 2000, p. 67). With the amount of crude oil spilled tallying to almost 125 Olympic-sized swimming pools, the stretch of the area of the spill was indeed huge, covering the distance of 470 miles from Bligh Reef to Chignik located on the Alaskan Peninsula.As a vast area has been literally covered with crude oil from the spill, the immediate decline in the number of these animals has also resulted to a lasting and steady decline to their population.

Considering the fact that a large number of the animals which have died from crude oil intoxication may have been potential parents to countless offspring, the rate at which the success of the propagation of their kind was also directly affected. To this day, the effects of the oil spill are still taking their toll on the reproduction of these animals (Matthews, 1991, p. 25).One of the greatest challenges in the attempt to save the remaining animals who affected by the spill is the fact that the beaches where the oil spill reached were rugged terrains making it almost impossible and entirely difficult to land a boat let alone chase affected birds and other land animals to be rescued.

Moreover, many places affected by the oil spill were remote enough to prevent immediate aid such as medical facilities for the animals suffering from oil intoxication. Even if aid was brought to these distant places, the possibility for the animals to survive the journey away from the remote coastal areas is most likely diminished.Large and powerful wild animals affected by the spill were also seen as threats to the rescuers as these animals may bring harm or injury to the rescuers. The effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill to human beings were also equally devastating although on the latter years the incident at Prince William Sound has recently attracted boating tourists. Setting aside the current tourism benefits of the oil spill, the time right after the incident was an immediate cause of alarm not only for the local residents in nearby areas but also for the international community.

Part of the effects of the oil spill on human beings includes the psychological fear brought about by the contamination of the waters. There was also the imminent threat of losing daily living as many residents relied on local fishing for their daily food. In relation to the loss of daily subsistence in terms of food, there were the corresponding financial losses on the part of those who sell or market their daily catch of fish and other aquatic animals.In the long run, much of the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill will take its toll on those people who have spent a great deal of their lives in the region of Prince William Sound. Chenega Bay is one of the small villages reaping the bitter harvest of the oil disaster. As filmy blankets of wandering crude oil from the spill reach the shores of the small village, clogging the water passages and bays surrounding the area of Evans Island, successful fishing and hunting for wildlife grew scarcer.

Eventually, the whole of the village is threatened, making the future of the village in the helm of doubt after a number of its local inhabitants began fleeing from the village towards more fertile areas. There were many methods and approaches used in dealing with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. From cleaning and removing the thick blankets of oil in shores to scouring off the crude oil scattered across the waters, the methods varied inasmuch as the situations to be addressed also differed in most cases.In clearing away oil from shores, for instance, the workers used high-pressured hoses to spray directly at the oil away from the rocks. On the other hand, the water with oil dispersed in large amounts would settle at the shore lines.

The workers would either wait until the oil reach the proximity of the shores and use the method of pressurized-hoses or filter the oil from the sea water using certain types of nets with objects lined in its uppermost net which will then be dragged along with the oil and congested into a single area where it will then be removed.Moreover, backhoes and other heavy tilling equipments were also used in displacing rocks which cover significant amounts of crude oil beneath the surface of the shores. After the oil beneath the rocks was exposed, workers can then continue with the use of pressurized hoses. The efforts did not only involve purely mechanical methods. Quite on the contrary, biological means were also used such as the instance where beaches were fertilized in order to enhance the growth of hydrocarbon-eating bacteria.

Unfortunately, this method was only effective in areas where the volume of the oil spill was not too thick and where conditions were appropriate for the growth of bacteria. Mitigation efforts were also used in order to prevent the further spill of oil in Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez tanker was placed within the perimeters of a ‘containment boom’ in order to surround the oil continuously seeping out of the tanker and prevent further contamination.These booms were assisted by aerial surveillance more of as guides to exactly when and where the booms are to be placed. A tug through the efforts of the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company was also sent to aid in stabilizing the tanker.

Other mitigating methods used include skimmers and sorbents in recovering oil from the sea (Trip, 1999, p. 53). There is strong reason to believe that the Exxon Valdez oil spill will have future implications in the coming decades or so.At the least, the oil spill has greatly affected both wildlife and human activities almost immediately after the disaster. And although the oil spill was almost entirely cleaned up a few days after the disaster, the effects were still felt in the long run. One example to prove this point is the fact that a significant number of wildlife has been lost in the 1989 oil spill, and the timeframe which these animals need in order to recover and replenish the huge loss in their population is still a prospect to be fulfilled in the near future.

Moreover, the inhabitants of the surrounding areas of Prince William Sound are still on the verge of fully recuperating from the drastic financial and emotional losses felt throughout the region. It appears that the large degradation in the ecosystem including the people of Prince William Sound is composed of an intricate web of interdependent and interwoven strands of organisms.The effect on one will most likely be felt by another, and the stretch of time needed for one to recover will have a lasting impact on the whole. For the most part, the Exxon Valdez oil spill less than two decades ago has exhumed huge amounts of efforts from concerned individuals and groups.

While the rest of Prince William Sound is yet to rekindle what it once had, all that is left for the communities and the rest of the wildlife is time, not to mention the perseverance to endure and come back from a big loss.