The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

1
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

• On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez
  grounded on Bligh Reef in the upper part of
  Prince William Sound, on the Alaska / Canada
  border
• The tanker was carrying approximately 53 million
  gallons of crude oil.

2
Valdez Oil Terminal Loading piers at the Valdez
terminal. Here, oil from the trans-Alaska
pipeline is loaded onto tankers for shipment to
West Coast states. At this terminal, oil was
loaded onto the Exxon Valdez for shipment to Los
Angeles/Long Beach.                             
                               
3
The Exxon Valdez, Grounded on Bligh Reef Shortly
after leaving the Port of Valdez, the Exxon
Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef. The picture
below was taken 3 days after the vessel grounded,
just before a storm arrived.                    
                             
4
Lightering Remaining Cargo Oil was lightered
(transferred) from the Exxon Valdez (left) to the
Exxon Baton Rouge (right), in a successful effort
to keep the oil remaining on the Exxon Valdez
from spilling into Prince William Sound. About
one-fifth of the oil carried by the Exxon Valdez
was spilled the remaining 42 million gallons of
oil was safely transferred to the Baton Rouge.
                                                  
      
5
Exxon Valdez Surrounded by Boom After the
remaining cargo was offloaded and the Exxon
Valdez was refloated, the vessel was moved to
Outside Bay, southwest of Naked Island, where
temporary repairs were made. Here, you can see it
at anchor in Outside Bay, surrounded by
protective boom.                                
                     
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Heavy Sheen on Sea Surface During the first few
days of the spill, heavy sheens of oil, such as
the sheen visible in this photograph, covered
large areas of the surface of Prince William
Sound.                                          
               
High Winds help to spread the oil out over large
distances
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Boom Around Salmon Hatchery (local
economy/industry) As the spilled oil moved
across the waters of Prince William Sound,
responders tried to protect especially sensitive
locations, such as this salmon hatchery in the
eastern Sound, which they surrounded with
protective boom. Boom floats on the water surface
and is designed to act as a barrier to oil.
                                                  
         
8
Oil Pooled Among Rocks Beginning 3 days after
the vessel grounded, a storm pushed large
quantities of fresh oil onto the rocky shores of
many of the beaches in the Knight Island chain.
In this photograph, pooled oil is shown stranded
in the rocks.                                   
                     
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Boom, Barge, and Skimmer Cleanup operations
included skimming oil from the water surface with
towed booms, as shown below. Two boats are towing
the boom (only one is visible in this photo). Oil
is collecting within the boom, and a small
skimmer at the apex of the boom is removing the
oil from the water surface. The skimmed oil is
being pumped through a hose into the barge that
is following the skimmer.                       
                                  
10
Skimming Operation Oil being skimmed from the
sea surface. Here, two boats are towing a
collection boom. Oil concentrated within the boom
is being picked up by the skimmer (the vessel at
the apex of the boom).                          
                                  
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Scene in the Command Center NOAA scientists at
work in the spill response command centre at
Valdez. Some of their projects included
forecasting the movement and fate of floating
oil, identifying sensitive environments,
evaluating results of surveys of shoreline
oiling, studying the effects of shoreline cleanup
methods, and coordinating scientific activities
during the response.                             
                
12
Oil High on Beach Front In many locations in
Prince William Sound, the action of tides and
currents distributed oil throughout the entire
intertidal zone. In Northwest Bay on Knight
Island, tides have deposited oil on this rocky
beach face up to the top of the intertidal
zone.                                             
               
13
Transport of Oiled Wildlife Workers transporting
captured, oiled wildlife to a rehabilitation
center for cleaning. Researchers are actively
debating the effectiveness of wildlife
rehabilitation. While some studies have found
rehabilitation to be ineffective, rehabilitation
proponents have pointed out other cases in which
rates of survival of rehabilitated wildlife have
been substantially higher.                      
                                      
14
Sediment Plume and Sheens A brown sediment plume
and sheens of refloated oil drift away from this
oiled beach as it is cleaned by a team applying
high-pressure, hot-water washing. Refloating of
oil and release of sediment are often unavoidable
consequences of shoreline cleanup that can cause
additional environmental harm.
                                                  
          
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High-Pressure, Hot-Water Washing Workers using
high-pressure, hot-water washing to clean an
oiled shoreline. In this treatment method, used
on many Prince William Sound beaches, oil is
hosed from beaches, collected within floating
boom, then skimmed from the water surface. Other
common treatment methods included cold-water
flushing of beaches, manual beach cleaning (by
hand or with absorbent pom-poms), bioremediation
(application of fertilizers to stimulate growth
of local bacteria, which degrade oil), and the
mechanical relocation of oiled sediments to
places where they could be cleaned by wave and
tide action.                                     
                       
Applying chemicals can also damage wildlife
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Cleanup Debris Bags of Exxon Valdez cleanup
debris await disposal. Much of the debris
collected during the Exxon Valdez cleanup was
eventually deposited in a landfill in Oregon
State, the closest facility certified to properly
handle the waste.                               
                             
17
questions

• What caused the oil spill?
• How did the oil spread?
• How was the oil contained? List the methods
• Describe the coastlines following the oil spill.
  How was local wildlife affected?
• How was the oil removed from the local
  environment?
• How do you think accidents like this can be
  avoided?

18
GCSE Energy Using Philips Atlas
p138-139 Answer the following questions 1.
Which continent consumes the most energy? What is
its total energy consumption as a percentage? 2.
Which region holds the largest oil reserves?
Which country produces the most oil and what was
the exact amount produced in tonnes? 3. Which
region holds the largest gas reserves? Which
country produces the most gas and what was the
total produced? 4. Which region holds the
largest coal reserves? Which country produces the
most coal and what was the exact amount in
tonnes? 5. What is the main country that
generates over 50 of its electricity from
nuclear power? 6. Where are most geothermal
power plants located? Why might this be?