Exxon Valdez Research Paper

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill was one of the nation’s biggest environmental disasters. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill was an event that no one saw coming, and that lead to million of dollars spent. The spill occurred in one the most populated areas wildlife wise. The spill was a cause of laziness, and carelessness, that ended up having a huge impact on bank accounts and nature. There were many different elements that made this spill happen, almost all of them could have been prevented. The Exxon Valdez oil spill, one of the world’s largest oil spills, killed thousands of active wildlife and required major cleanup efforts.
The things leading up to the spill were not only important to know, but also explains how, and why, the event happened. The Exxon Valdez left Alyeska Pipeline Terminal at 9:12 P.M., March 23, 1989. It had a total crew count of twenty, including the captain, Joseph Hazelwood. It left the dock with everything in working order. The two-year-old 987 feet long, 166 feet wide, and 88 feet tall. It had a storage capacity of 62 million gallons (Shenkman). The tanker, second newest in Exxon Shipping Company's 20-tanker …show more content…
The Exxon Valdez spilled 42 million liters of crude oil and contaminating 1,990 kilometers of shoreline. The oil killed a total of about 253,000 of wildlife. It killed 2,800 sea otters, 302 harbor seals, 250,000 seabirds, 250 bald eagles, and 22 killer whales (Shigenaka). Some scientists estimated that 35% of the spilled oil evaporated, 40% was deposited on beaches within Prince William Sound, and 25% entered the Gulf of Alaska where it either became beached or was lost at sea (Shinnefield). Some might think the aftermath ended there, but scientists predict it will affect the area for twenty plus more years. It will do this because the spill affected more than most would think. It affected eggs, and prey for other animals that will kill future sea