Exxon Valdez Oil Spill On March 24th of 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska. An oil tanker bound for long beach, California, struck Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef at 12:04 am. The tanker spilled out 11 to 38 million us gallons of crude oil. This oil spill was considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters. The Valdez spill as the largest in U.S. waters during that time period. According to official reports, the ship was carrying approximately 55 million U.S. gallons of oil of which about 10.1 to 11 million U.S. gallons were spilled into the Prince William Sound (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Wiki). What actually caused this tragic disaster? Exxon shipping company failed to …show more content…
In terms of Alaska’s wild life, the river and sea otters were mainly effected by this oil spill. According to the peer-reviewed article “Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Plan” by the Exxon Valdez spill council trustees, river otters and sea otters were affected. In terms of the river otters, they have a low population density in Prince William Sound. Twelve river otter carcasses were found following the spill, but actual total mortality is not known. The recovery goal is for the river otters to conditions that would have existed had the spill not occurred. Biologist also believes that the river otters will have recovered when bio chemical indicators of hydrocarbon exposure are similar between piled and unoiled areas of Prince William Sound. Unlike the river otters, About 1,000 sea otter carcasses were recovered following the spill. In 1991, higher than expected proportions of prime age adult sea otters were found dead in western Prince William Sound. The recovery goal, the same as the river otters, is for the sea otters to return to conditions that would have existed had the spill not occurred. Many biologist believed that the sea otters recovered when the population in oiled areas returns to its pre-spill levels and distribution, and when biochemical indicators of hydrocarbon exposure in otters in the oiled areas are …show more content…
Bioremediation is a waste management technique that involves the use of organisms to remove or neutralize pollutants from a contaminated site—in this case, the waters of Alaska. According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), bioremediation is “treatment that uses naturally occurring organisms to break down hazardous substances into less toxic or non-toxic substances (bioremediation, Wiki). In terms of bioremediation and the oil spill, this technique consist of billions of hydrocarbon-chewing microbes such as Alcanivorax boricumenisis, also known as bacteria. Oil cleaners used 830,000 gallons of chemical dispersants on the oil slick both above and below the surface of the sea to break the oil into smaller droplets that bacteria can more easily consume (Slick Solution, David Biello). Many scientist believe that if the oil is in very small droplets, microbial degradation is much quicker; this is why the chemical dispersants was added above and below the surface of the sea. The dispersants can also stimulate microbial growth. Bacteria will chew on the dispersants as well as the oil (slick solution, David