Location: Prince William Sound, Alaska Material spilled: North
Slope crude oil Amount spilled: 10.8 million gallons Spill
extent: 1,300 miles of coastline Many factors complicated the
cleanup efforts following the spill. The size of the spill and
its remote location, accessible only by helicopter and boat,
made government and industry efforts difficult and tested
existing plans for dealing with such an event. Officials
employed a variety of countermeasures to control the slick,
including burns and dispersants, as well as high-pressure
washing on areas of oiled shoreline. Today, most signs of the
spill are gone from sight, but research into the long-term
biological impacts of the oil has shown that many organisms in
Prince William Sound continue to show effects.
PublicationsJewett, SC and JJ Stegeman, et al., “Exposure to
hydrocarbons 10 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill: evidence
from cytochrome P4501A expression and biliary FACs in nearshore
demersal fishes,” Marine Environmental Research 54(2002): 21-4