Exxon Valdez Research Paper

Four minutes past midnight on March 24 of 1989, a disaster that would have major effects lasting to this day took place. The Exxon Valdez crashed into rocky reefs while carrying millions of gallons of oil, releasing 11 million of them into Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The tragedy had a huge impact on both marine wildlife and humans, but the biggest problem was going to take the effort of thousands to solve- how were they going to clean up the spill?
The usual method of cleaning an oil spill would have been to use a dispersant powder to chemically clear the water. However, because of how thick the layer of oil was, the powder barely made a dent. Unfortunately, it took days for the clean-up crew to realize the ineffectiveness of the dispersant,

They hired 10,000 workers and used roughly 100 airplanes and helicopters and 1,000 boats. This new group of people, known as the Exxon army, navy, and air force, used different methods of cleaning the oil. The first was hot water, which was used on shorelines, rocks, and shallow areas. This was popular until people realized that more damage could be done than what the oil already did. Just like how washing your hands in warm water kills germs, small organisms in the Alaskan water would be killed by the heat. Because of this, they tried using the opposite- cold water. High pressure cold water treatments involved multiple workers holding a fire hose. This was used to spray beaches that were covered in oil. The oil polluted cold water would move to the shore and be absorbed using special oil-absorbent materials. However, the not all of the oil as on the surface. Backhoes would till the sand on beaches to expose any oil that had seeped

Because of the spill, “fisheries for salmon, herring, crab, shrimp, rockfish, and sablefish were closed” (Amadeo), causing over 15,000 people lost their source of food. The tourism industry was at a loss, too. More than 26,000 people lost their jobs, and over $2.4 billion was lost in sales.
Another economic problem was how much Exxon had to pay. One order of financial business was the animals. “Wildlife value is measured by the cost to obtain or rehabilitate them.”(Rivera) For example, zoos would pay $50,000 to capture an otter. Harbor seals cost $20,000. Sea birds cost $300. Eagles cost $22,000. The total paid for only these four species was $218.6 million.
Exxon also spent $3.8 billion for the cleanup site, compensating the 11,000 residents who were affected, and paying fines. Surprisingly, it might have been $4.5 billion more. In 1994, the Alaskan court made Exxon pay $5 billion in “punitive damages”. After years of lawsuits and appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Exxon only owed $507.5