Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Nicol McNeill
Miller-Motte College
25 years ago, on March 24, 1989, Exxon Valdez who is an oil tanker, entered Alaska’s Prince William Sound after he had departed the Valdez Marine Terminal. He was transporting a tank full of crude oil. As the night passed by, at 12:04 a.m., the ship collided with a reef and as a result of that, the accident caused almost 11 million gallons of crude oil to be emptied out into the environment. This accident affected thousands of animals as well as, miles and miles of coastlines. The U.S. Congress created and passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 because this oil spill was considered one of the biggest in history. This act was signed into law that year by President George …show more content…
As a result of this study, results showed that washing aggressively with high pressure hot water hoses was the most effective in clearing up the oil. However, this method did create more ecological damage because it killed any remaining plants and animals that were stuck there. Mearn’s Rock, which is a shoreline boulder, was oiled but never cleaned. It has been visited by scientists every summer since the spill. Scientists have visited this rock so they can photograph the plants and small critters that were growing on it. Three to four years after the spill, the mussels, barnacles, and seaweeds that were growing on the rock before the spill, have returned back to normal levels. The accident caused more damage to the ecosystem and the environment. Exxon Mobil did help with the clean up operations however, the accidental yet avoidable accident left a huge shock. The Exxon Valdez tanker was eventually repaired but, because of a stipulation in the Oil Pollution Act, it was ultimately banned from being able to enter Prince William Sound. It was eventually renamed the Exxon Mediterranean. After being banned, the ship then worked in the Mediterranean Sea up until all single-hulled tankers were banned from European waters. By 2008, it was turned into an ore carrier by a company in Hong Kong. The ship was renamed again in 2012. This time, under the name Oriental Nicety, it was sold for scrapping in
Nicol McNeill
Miller-Motte College
25 years ago, on March 24, 1989, Exxon Valdez who is an oil tanker, entered Alaska’s Prince William Sound after he had departed the Valdez Marine Terminal. He was transporting a tank full of crude oil. As the night passed by, at 12:04 a.m., the ship collided with a reef and as a result of that, the accident caused almost 11 million gallons of crude oil to be emptied out into the environment. This accident affected thousands of animals as well as, miles and miles of coastlines. The U.S. Congress created and passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 because this oil spill was considered one of the biggest in history. This act was signed into law that year by President George …show more content…
As a result of this study, results showed that washing aggressively with high pressure hot water hoses was the most effective in clearing up the oil. However, this method did create more ecological damage because it killed any remaining plants and animals that were stuck there. Mearn’s Rock, which is a shoreline boulder, was oiled but never cleaned. It has been visited by scientists every summer since the spill. Scientists have visited this rock so they can photograph the plants and small critters that were growing on it. Three to four years after the spill, the mussels, barnacles, and seaweeds that were growing on the rock before the spill, have returned back to normal levels. The accident caused more damage to the ecosystem and the environment. Exxon Mobil did help with the clean up operations however, the accidental yet avoidable accident left a huge shock. The Exxon Valdez tanker was eventually repaired but, because of a stipulation in the Oil Pollution Act, it was ultimately banned from being able to enter Prince William Sound. It was eventually renamed the Exxon Mediterranean. After being banned, the ship then worked in the Mediterranean Sea up until all single-hulled tankers were banned from European waters. By 2008, it was turned into an ore carrier by a company in Hong Kong. The ship was renamed again in 2012. This time, under the name Oriental Nicety, it was sold for scrapping in