The Exxon Valdez oil spill: initial environmental impact assessment. Part 2

Abstract

The March 24, 1989, grounding of the Exxon Valdez on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, was unprecedented in scale. So too was Exxon's response to the oil spill and the subsequent shoreline cleaning program, including the employment of more than 11,000 people, utilization of essentially the entire world supply of containment booms and skimmers, and an expenditure of more than two billion dollars. In the days immediately following the Valdez spill, Exxon mobilized a massive environmental assessment program. A large field and laboratory staff of experienced environmental professionals and internationally recognized experts was assembled that included intertidal ecologists, fishery biologists, marine and hydrocarbon chemists. This field program to measure spill impacts and recovery rates was initiated with the cooperation of state and federal agencies. Through the end of 1989, this program has resulted in well over 45,000 separate samples of water, sediment, and biota used to assess spill impacts. This paper provides initial observations and preliminary conclusions from several of the 1989 studies. These conclusions are based on factual, scientific data from studies designed to objectively measure the extent of the impacts from the spill. Data from these studies indicate that wildlife and habitats are recovering from themore » impacts of the spill and that commercial catches of herring and salmon in Prince William Sound are at record high levels. Ecosystem recovery from spill impacts is due to the combined efforts of the cleanup program as well as natural physical, chemical, and biological processes. From all indications this recovery process can be expected to continue.« less