The Exxon Valdez & Environmental Damage Abst

This article will review current information regarding environmental engineering techniques being used in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The creation and implementation of some of these techniques was inspired by the Exxon Valdez incident. There were no absolute positive correlations between bioremediation techniques used, new tanker technology, and the lessening of ecological impact. Environmental engineering appears best at studying the variables and then learning through trial and error what are the most positive steps to take.

At 12:30 am (PST) on March 24, 1989 the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, a wellknown and wellmarked submerged reef far outside the designated tanker lanes. The Exxon Valdez spewed 11 million gallons of North Slope crude into the protected waters of Prince William Sound. When Alyeska cleanup crews finally arrived, a full 14 hours later, Bligh Reef had ripped the bottom out of the Exxon Valdez and the ship lay in a pool of oil 2 miles wide, 6 miles long and 24 inches deep (Voth, 1994).

Readiness and Remediation to 1989 Standards

Accordingly, techniques for limiting the spread of oil spills and subsequent cleanups were limited to burnoffs, anionic and nonionic subfracants, booms, bioremediation, removal of the crude, and high pressure hoses. Although some of these techniques were novel and effective in the short term, the dimensions of the Exxon Valdez in

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ting four habitats and four oiling levels (including unoiled reference sites); and 2) periodic sampling at 12 nonrandomly chosen sites that included some of the most heavily oiled locations in the sound. Biological communities on rock surfaces and in intertidal and shallow subtidal sediments were analyzed for differences resulting from oiling in each of 16 habitat/tide zone combinations (Gilfillian, 1995, 398443). Statistical methods included univariate analyses of individual species abundances and community parameter variables (total abundance, species richness, and Shannon diversity), and multivariate correspondence analysis of joint species abundances. The communities of animals and plants inhabiting the bedrock and coarse sediments on Prince William Sound's shorelines responded much differently to oiling than communities in softsediment environments that were the subject of a majority of shoreline studies conducted after other oil spills (Gilfillian, 1995, 398443). Sedimentary environments in Prince William Sound did not become anaerobic but showed evidence of increased biological activity as the oil residue became a source of organic carbonwithout the usual succession of opportunistic invaders. Similarly, some bedro
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Approximate Word count = 2048
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)