Exxon Valdez 20 Years Later

In the December 5 Issue:

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Climate might be right for a deal: Copenhagen negotiations will take steps toward a climate-stabilizing treaty
Botanical Whales: Adventures in the Tortugas reveal that seagrass fields need saving too
Breaking the Speed Limit: Studies examine physiology and technology to better foresee the ultimate edge of human performance

Exxon Valdez 20 Years Later

Series: Effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill linger

By Janet Raloff

Web edition : Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

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March 24 marked the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The effects are still obvious today. A series of blogs from senior editor Janet Raloff describes the continuing aftermath.

Exxon Valdez: tidal waters still troubled
Fifth in a series

Immediately following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, 20 years ago, environmental scientists were recruited to evaluate damage to ecosystems in and around Alaska’s Prince William Sound. And almost all describe being initially struck by a pall that had descended over normally raucous, vibrant marine communities. Read more.

Exxon Valdez killed future for some killer whales
Fourth in a series

The Exxon Valdez spill dumped almost 11million gallons of crude oil into southern Alaska's Prince William Sound , 20 years ago this week. Two groups of killer whales were present. And neither has recovered to their pre-spill abundance, Craig Matkin told me last week. Read more.

Otters and oil: problems remain
Third in a series

In the early days after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, some 350 Alaskan sea otters were rescued from oil-laden waters and shipped or airlifted to treatment centers. Cleaning and rehabilitation saved 197; they were then released back into the wild. These were the lucky ones. Overall, an estimated one-in-five of Prince William Sound’s 14,000 otters died from spill-related poisonings. Read more.

Exxon Valdez oil lingers, as does its toxicity
Second in a series

A few years after the 1989 Exxon Valdez accident — still the biggest tanker spill in U.S. history — once-oil-blackened beaches in Alaska’s Prince William Sound again looked clean and healthy. Some scientists now worry that those looks have been deceiving. Read more.

America's worst oil disaster still isn't over
First in a series.

Exxon Valdez. Its name still evokes disaster. Tomorrow (March 24) marks the 20th anniversary of the ship’s grounding on Bligh Reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Throughout the week, I’ll take a look at changes in its wake — including environmental impacts that linger from this, the nation’s biggest oil spill. Read more.

Found in: Earth, Earth Science, Environment and Science & Society

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Comments 1

Janet, I found your first, second, third and final series very informative concerning Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS). However, I would like to see a forth series concerning the EVOS workers. The beach cleanup workers sprayed the beaches with toxic chemicals that were authorized by Exxon.
Please read the information below about EVOS workers.

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Workers (EVOS) Workers vs. Exxon

Are these the Actions of Our US Lady Justice?
Tipping Scales?
Peeking for Corporate Interest?
Accepting Bribes?
Knee Deep in Exxon Oil?
Allowing Human Life as Exxon's Collateral Damage?

To view Lady Justice click on the site below.
http://www.silenceinthesound.com/valdez-oil-spill-workers-vs-exxon.shtml

An investigative study is being conducted into the thousands of Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) workers' health issues, and acknowledged as Exxon's Criminal actions; not just as Exxon's Collateral Damage.

Here is the rest of the story: In 1989, while media and public attention focused on the thousands of oil-coated dead seabirds, otters, and other wildlife, little attention was given to the harm done to the EVOS cleanup workers. As workers blasted oiled beaches, with hot seawater from high pressure hoses, they were engulfed in toxic fumes containing aerosolized crude oil—benzene and other volatile compounds, oil mist, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. View photos at: www.silenceinthesound.com/gallery.shtml

It is a major concern that the cleanup workers from the 1989 EVOS are suffering from long-term health problems resulting from toxic chemical exposures. A significant number of the workers have died. Some of the illnesses include neurological impairment, chronic respiratory disease, leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors, liver damage, and blood diseases. View stories at: www.silenceinthesound.com/stories.shtml

Dr. Riki Ott has written two books; Sound Truth & Corporate Myth$ and Not One Drop. Dr. Ott has investigated, and studied the oil spill spraying, and quotes numerous reports in her books, on the toxic chemicals that were used during the 1989 Prince William Sound oily beach cleanup.

The Black Wave, www.blackwavethefilm.com (filmed by a Canadian company) is the name of the film that tells the story about Dr. Ott's investigations and the interviews of sick workers suffering from the toxic chemicals used during the cleanup. The BBC was in Alaska in December 2008 filming for the 20th Anniversary of the oil spill, and interviewed many people.

Submitted by: Merle Savage, General Foreman during the (EVOS) cleanup attempt of 1989; www.silenceinthesound.com email: msavage12@cox.net

Merle Savage

Mar. 26, 2009 at 3:03pm